Shadows and Nightmares
by TheMemeMaster
Summary: Two friends. Two sisters. Two tales. Follow the journey of two friends, Brock the Poocheyana and Singularity the Zoroark as Team Shadow. Follow the path of Nightmare and Seeleena, Eevee sisters with a dark past. Read to see the journies of both, and how both stories intertwine.
1. Nightmare and Seeleena

**(AN: I don't own Pokemon but this story is being adapted by an RP done by me and two friends. I hope you enjoy!)**

The young Eevee made her way down a quiet path that was leading to the nearby town. The silence didn't disturb her, it was more calming than anything. Despite the serenity of the path worry began to nibble at her belly. She didn't know if she would be chased away, for some unknown reason, just like at the last town she had visited. The screams off the Pokemon still echoed a bit in her ears; the memory of them pointing at the symbol on her chest before chasing her was as fresh as if it had happened yesterday.

Of course she didn't know what the symbol meant or why it scared the other pokemon, she just knew she always had it, and that her parents had given it to her

.

She let out a sigh. Regardless of all that she still had to risk going into town. She and her little sister were running low on supplies and really needed more. Seleena was so small, Nightmare was afraid of her getting sick.

Perhaps last time was just a misunderstanding. Maybe the Pokemon in this town will be more sympathetic. Nightmare thought optimistically.

As she drew closer the town came into view. It was apparent this town was small. Most big cities, or even the bigger and more developed villages, had guards posted on the entrance and this town was lacking in that. She walked through the archway without issue. As she got farther in she stayed out of the way and tried to be as unnoticeable as possible. Being young some of the older pokemon still intimidated her. Some pokemon gave her strange looks but kept on walking while others ignored her completely. The relived her and put a small smile on her face. Eventually she found the local store. Run, of course, by a Kecleon. He had obviously heard her approach, trying to finish what he was doing quickly.

"I do beg your pardon, but I'll be with you in a moment." he called out in an airy voice. He turned around with a bright smile. "Now what is it I can help you wi-"he stopped mid sentence, his mouth gaping, he was staring at the mark on her chest.. "No,no it can't be….they died…" He face stark with terror he started screaming. "HELP! EVERYONE THEY'RE BACK! CALL THE GUARDS! THERE COULD BE MORE OF THEM HIDING NEARBY!" He ran away, repeating to everyone he passed.

Her ears folded back in confusion and fear. Why are they so afraid of me? I-I didn't do anything! She heard footsteps pounding towards and she bolted towards the town entrance. It terrified her to think of what might happen if they caught her. Risking a glance back Nightmare saw a group of pokemon, all with furious expression, and headed by a Dodrio chasing her. Finally she bolted through the gate, angry screams following her.

"AND STAY OUT! MONSTERS LIKE YOU AREN'T WELCOME HERE!"

She couldn't understand what made them so angry, why she was chased from every town she entered. Deep down she knew what the problem was. It can't be my family's emblem. It just can't! She shook her head, coming to a stop. The yelling had faded away and she couldn't hear any foot steps. She took a deep breath and started toward the abandoned cave she and Seleena were sharing. She didn't want to disappoint her but what other choice did she have?

Her little sister scampered out to meet her, ears perked and coat seemingly glowing in the early morning light. "Did you get the supplies Night?" Seleena asked softly, jumping a bit.

Nightmare shook her head sadly. "No, they chased me away again. They were really angry." Her ears drooped a bit.

Seleena tied her head at this. "Did ya' say something weird, I mean you do say some silly things but that's not that bad." She asked innocently.

Nightmare sighed. She really hated doing this but it was the only way to get what they needed. "Seleena, I need you to try and go into the town to get the supplies, OK? You think you can do that?" she asked her sister seriously.

Her eyes widened. "But, but what if they attack me to? Why would it be any different from you going?" She shivered a bit. "I can't run as fast as you yet."

"You can use your link if you get in trouble. I'll com running." She nuzzled Seleena's cheek. "I trust you little sister, you're a strong Pokemon, I know you can do it."

"O-ok…" she ran her paw through the dirt. "I-I'll go. I uh I'll need the money though."

Nightmare nodded and gave her their coin bag. "The list is inside. Remember if you get in trouble just use the link and I'll come running." Seleena nodded, taking the bag, and headed towards the town.

Nightmare sighed and layed down just outside of the cave. As she watched her sister go her mind began to drift back to something her parents had told her when she was very little.

"This is going to hurt dear, but you must bear through it." Her mother had said. "It is the crest of our family and you should wear it proudly until the day you die."

"One day your mother and I won't be with you and it will be up to you to carry on our legacy and practice." Her father had told her.

"Really?" She remembered asking. "Will I really be as strong as you guys?"

"Even stronger, we believe you can be the strongest pokemon the world has ever seen." Her mother had told her, pride gleaming in her eyes.

Nightmare was saying her last goodbyes to her parents before they left on an expedition.

"Now, pay attention Nightmare, I need you to do something very important. When your sibling hatches I want you to give them the family crest. If its a girl, like you, name her Sabotage." Her mother told her.

"If its a male, name him Deceit." Her father instructed.

"Alright. But I really wish you didn't have to go. You'll both miss their hatching!" She remembered the sadness she had felt when saying so.

"I know dear, but I'm going to be brutally honest here." Her mother had continued with a sigh. "I'm not sure if your father and I will make it back this time. If we don't come home with in a week of your sibling's hatching, which should be in three days, or you haven't heard from us you must leave this place. You have to take your sibling and get far away from here. Can you promise me this?"

Nightmare nodded. "Of course. I promise."

Nightmare remembered smiling widely as the first crack in her sister's egg appeared. As she watched with anticipation a tiny head poked out of the egg. Soon her sister tumbled out, shaking eggshell off her fur. She looked up at Nightmare with big green eyes, a smile plastered on her face. She had leaned down to let her sister see her better. "Welcome to the world little sister." The little eevee clambered onto Nightmares back, squeaking happily.

"I bigger now!" She squeaked. "Wow!" She cried as Nightmare set her gently on the ground again. Nightmare looked over the little one curiously. she remembered wondering if her parents really had branded her this early, and give her such a threatening name? She still didn't know the true answer to that question now.

What she did know at that time was that she didn't have the heart to fulfill her parent's requests. She remembered how much it hurt to get the mark and she didn't want to do that to her baby sister.

Nightmare pulled her close and nuzzled her. "Sister, your name is Seleena. The perfect name for my baby sister." she had smiled tenderly.

"Seu-leena?" Seleena echoed with a tilt of her head. She had repeated her name several times. "Seleena! Like Seleena!" she had chirped happily.

Their parents hadn't come back or sent any word the week following Seleena's hatching. Nightmare had expected this. So she packed only their necessary supplies and took Seleena away. Her sister had been confused by this, and didn't understand why Nightmare was so sad. She had followed her regardless, and tried to cheer her up.

Neither sister was aware of how long and hard their journey was going to be.

Nightmare sighed after reflecting on this. She couldn't wondering if it really was her parent's crest that upset others so badly. She knew she would get her answer when Seleena returned.

She did, however, know one thing for certain. If anyone ever hurt her sister then they would find out why she was named Nightmare. She would live up to her name and become their nightmare.

 **(AN: Thanks so much for reading the first chapter of Shadows and Nightmares! I really hope you enjoy it, and if you do, please favorite, and leave a review! If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please PM me or leave a review, and I'll get back to you. Until next time!)**


	2. Singularity and Brock

**(OMG, I AM SO SORRY THAT I HAVEN'T BEEN UPDATING, I seriously have had so many things going on in my personal life, so I am extremely sorry for the lack of updates. I'm going to upload the three chapters I've written here today, and I'll be updating my other stories very soon. Again, I seriously apologize for not updating... Just, exams and AP classes take up much of your time. Also, a trip to Peru! Anyways, here's the first chapter!)**

It was night outside. Most places across the Pokemon world, Pokemon were sleeping. But there were some that were not. Inside a dungeon, most Pokemon never slept. But in this case, two non-dungeon pokemon were inside.

Singularity looked around him. It didn't appear that there was any other Pokemon around. That was good. He didn't like very many pokemon. He didn't trust very many Pokemon either. Only a select few, and he hadn't seen those Pokemon in years. The Zoroark continued to survey his surroundings, thinking. He looked like a normal Zoroark, but he had a large scar running down his face, that was a reminder of the time he had spent with the Zangoose who had raised him, ever since he had been orphaned at a young age. As he sat down, looking around, he wondered if he'd actually get to go a night without being disturbed.

(MEANWHILE)

The Poochyena that was named Brock continued through the dungeon's floor. He was starting to get quite tired from all the running from hostile Pokemon that attacked at what felt like every turn. He didn't like them, they just were wild and attacked mostly. His paw was wounded slightly, and he was limping. It wasn't fun, but that's how it was when you're a lone Pokemon going through a dungeon. Brock too, had been orphaned young, and he too, was travelling alone, hoping to find a place to rest. He turned the corner, and saw a lone Zoroark standing in the room, facing away from him. Brock attempted to sneak past him quietly, but the Zoroark whirled around. Brock flinched.

The Zoroark had a long scar running down his face, and had an angry expression on its face. He didn't look to friendly.

"Another dungeon Pokemon?" the Zoroark growled. "Don't worry, I'll make this quick." he charged forward, and leaped, but he had leaped too late, and went flying over Brock, and crashed onto the ground.

"Get away!" Brock growled. "This room is big enough for both of us… Although I suppose I could leave…"

Singularity stood up, and then looked at the Poochyena. "Dungeon Pokemon don't talk… " he said. Brock stared at him, and then began backing away to the exit of the room. _Why did I even come to this dungeon?_ Brock wondered. But then, the Zoroark called out to him. "Wait a minute! Can you agree to a truce? It's clear that you aren't a dungeon Pokemon!" Brock stopped, and considered for a moment. Then he nodded, and began walking forward.

"Alright then, truce." Brock said, limping forward. "I just wanted somewhere to spend the night, and I thought that this dungeon would be the place… I guess that was a mistake." Brock said.

"I know what you mean… I was looking for the same thing, but I guess that was a foolish idea. It seems as if this dungeon is designed to appear innocent to lure easy prey to those who wish to attack them." the Zoroark replied. "By the way, my name is Singularity." Singularity said.

"My name is Brock…" Brock replied. "Listen, do you have anything that can help my paw? I'm fresh out of items." Singularity nodded, and tossed him an Oran Berry. "Thanks."

"Listen, Brock. While we're here, we may as well team up for a bit. I think this is a smaller dungeon, and we are close to the end. Maybe we should head down to the bottom. There's always one room at the end of dungeons, so it'd be easier for us to go there and rest, at least for a while. And incase anyone attacks, we can just use the automatic exit that is at the end of all dungeons." Singularity suggested.

Brock nodded, and the two Pokemon, wary of each other, continued down the dungeon.

(TIME SKIP)

Brock and Singularity reached the end of the floor, next to the stairs. "I think this next floor is the end of the dungeon." Singularity said. "Our goal is near. Let's go." Singularity said, and Brock nodded. Both of them were hoping for the chance to finally rest after the dungeon. It wasn't like the dungeon was particularly challenging, it was just taxing, with the constant encounters. But of course, things didn't go as planned. As the two reached the end of the stairs, they saw three figures. It was a Rhyhorn, Ariados, and Lucario. the three were in a huddle, but immediately split and glared as the two.

"Well, well, well. I guess I was expecting this, although not as soon as this. So you two are the team that the guild sent after us? You don't look like much." said the Lucario. "Although, few do, who are members. Perhaps that's why not many people join as apprentices anymore…" he said.

Both Brock and Singularity looked at each other, confusedly. "What guild?" they both asked. That of course, eliminated the question they had both had for each other.

The Lucario glared. "You know, Wigglytuff's Guild. Don't play dumb with me, I've seen exploration teams like you before, pretending to be innocent, not know what is happening. But you won't capture me. So I'll give you this one and only chance to get out now, because if you aren't gone in about three seconds, your option is fighting." The Lucario threatened, narrowing his eyes.

"I still have no idea what he's talking about." Singularity said to Brock. "Do you have any idea?"

"No, he might just be spouting nonsense, but I don't know, maybe we should back out…" Brock replied.

"Well, I guess you're fighting!" The Lucario yelled, "Come on team, let's get those cocky guild members!" The three Pokemon all charged forward, running at full speed. Singularity and Brock ran out to meet them.

The battle was hectic. Brock and Singularity managed to take out the Ariados quickly with a combination of Brock's Fire Fang, and Singularity's Flamethrower. The Ariados fell, and the Rhyhorn immediately came charging for Brock, as Singularity looked just in time to see the Lucario use Bullet Punch on him. The two began exchanging blows. They seemed to both be blocking each other with a combination of Shadow Claw and Bullet Punch. Meanwhile, Brock was having trouble with the Rhyhorn, but a series of Fire Fangs seemed to be slowly wearing it down.

Finally, Singularity managed to land a hit on Lucario, who stumbled back, and Singularity blasted Flamethrower in his face. The Lucario fainted, just as Brock jumped out of the way of the Rhyhorn's charge, and, in his weakened state, crashed into a wall, fainting. Both Pokemon stood there for a moment, catching their breath. Before either of them could ask how the other was however, a Magnezone, flanked by two Magnemite descended the stairs.

"BRZZT! Assessing situation. BRZZT! Situation analyzed. Enemy outlaw team threat has already been neutralized by unknown exploration team. BRZZT! Please identify your team. BRZZT!" The Magnezone demanded.

"How many Pokemon are gonna ask us that?" Singularity wondered aloud. "Brock and I aren't an exploration team. We were just teaming up to get through this dungeon. Seriously. Are you the ones from that guild that Lucario mentioned earlier? He was talking about it." Singularity responded.

"BRZZT! Affirmative, I am Magnezone, of Wigglytuff's guild. BRZZT! You have defeated an S-Class Outlaw Team. BRZZT! Situation strange. If you are truly not an exploration team, it is strange. BRZZT! Conclusion reached. The two of you must return with me to the guild. BRZZT!"

"Wait, what even is the guild? And what is an S-Class outlaw team? And why should we go with you?" Brock asked, standing beside Singularity.

"BRZZT! WIgglytuff's Guild is a guild for explorers. BRZZT! An S-Class outlaw team means that they are quite powerful. BRZZT! You must return with me to Treasure Town so that all of our questions, and yours, will be answered. BRZZT! I shall use the explorer badge to send you there. BRZZT!" Magnezone said. He then floated toward Brock and Singularity, tapping them both. Both Pokemon had a strange sense of vertigo as they were warped.

 **(AN: So, that's it. Be prepared for two more chapters very, very soon. Once again, I apologize for abandoning you. I promise to start trying to update you guys more, but I am still in exam season, or will be soon.)**


	3. Hints and Advice

**(AN: Ok, here's the other chapter I have prepared enjoy, I'm off to write more!)**

Night had fallen. Nightmare stood impatiently waiting her sister's return. She had been gone the rest of the day, and she was starting to get worried. What if she had been captured? What if they had imprisoned her? But, if she was really in trouble, wouldn't she have reached out to her mentally? Nightmare didn't want to do so now, it might distract her, or leave her vulnerable at an important time. So Nightmare chose the next best option. Start heading into town, and look for her herself. It would be dangerous, but she would find and protect her sister, no matter what.

Nightmare ventured out from the cave that she and her sister shared, and began walking down the path that led into the town. Nightmare tried to calm her nerves. It might just be that Seeleena had gotten the supplies and needed to rest, she was younger and smaller after all, and she didn't yet have the endurance of Nightmare, just as she didn't have the endurance of her parents for long journeys. Nightmare hated the silence that filled the air. It was not helping her at all. She wished she could hear something, so she knew something was out there.

Nightmare had reached the gates. They were unattended, and closed. Most small villages closed their gates at night, as they didn't expect too many visitors. It made sense after all. She snuck in, leaping over the gate. No Pokemon appeared to be around. She might have to hide, should any others show up. She knew she might be able to fight a little bit, but also knew that any Pokemon she fought would encourage the antagonism between her and them, and they would raise an alarm. She might never make it out this time.

By the time that Nightmare had backtracked to the shop owned by the Kecleon, the shop had closed, and no one was there. Nightmare hoped that Seeleena had at least gotten this far. Since she was nowhere around, there was only one thing left to do. Look into the houses of others, to see if Seeleena was there. So that is what Nightmare began to do. For the better part of an hour, Nightmare began looking into the windows of the houses of others. Right about when she was losing hope, and about to call out to her mentally, Nightmare looked inside of one of the larger houses. When she looked in, she saw that it was home to the Dodrio who had headed the group who had chased her out earlier. But Nightmare also saw a curled up ball of fur that could only be her sister on the nest inside. Nightmare was confused, but also relieved. Seeleena had probably gotten here late, and been offered a place to stay, especially since she was so young. But that meant... _Does that mean my mark really is what got me chased out?_ Nightmare worried. She would need to do some digging, to understand what this symbol that scared everyone so much meant. Suddenly, she heard the door to the house open, and the Dodrio stomped out, and glared at her. Nightmare had been so absorbed in her own thoughts, she hadn't realized the Dodrio watching her in the window. He towered over her.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't raise the alarm and imprison you right now!" The Dodrio growled at her.

"I'll give you two: One, I haven't done anything to anyone. You should be apologizing to me for chasing me out of here for no reason earlier. Two, that's my sister that you have in the house, and I came to check on her." Nightmare responded.

"Yes, you haven't done anything yet, but who says you won't. Pokemon like you don't deserve mercy or decency. That group of explorers thought they got the last of you. So how did they miss you?" The Dodrio asked.

"How should I know? I've lived with my sister my whole life. All I know is that my parents are dead. They were great explorers, and they always told me to follow in their pawsteps when I was older. They even gave me this mark when I was born. They told me it was the mark of our family, of our greatness." Nightmare responded.

"If Seeleena is really your sister, then why doesn't she have a mark too?" The Dodrio demanded.

"Because when she was born, I didn't have the heart to brand her. I was alone, my parents had left on the journey they never returned from. They told me to name her Sabotage, and brand her. I did neither to my sister. I wasn't sure why, but I just couldn't." Nightmare responded. The Dodrio started chuckling to himself. "What's so funny?" Nightmare demanded.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The Dodrio replied. He didn't sound sorry at all. "But it's just very funny to me. I believe your story, but the real question is this: How have you not yet figured out the truth? Isn't it obvious? It should be." He said, continuing to laugh.

"No, it isn't obvious. But I'll figure it out myself. I don't need meanies like you to laugh at me. Now can I have my sister back please?" Nightmare asked, sighing.

Very well." The Dodrio replied, becoming serious. "Just beware in the future. Not all Pokemon will be as understanding as I am. Use your sister to go in public. She will win you many favors. But until you understand the truth, stick to the shadows. I'll go get your sister." He said, going inside. Whilst she was waiting, Nightmare pondered what the Dodrio had said. It seemed he was right. She would stick to the shadows. She needed to know what this symbol on her chest meant. Maybe her family had used it, but it used to be a bad symbol. That's probably what it meant. But Nightmare wasn't sure. A moment later, Seeleena tumbled out of the house, bleary eyed, and holding their supplies and money.

"Nightmare, what's going on?" Seeleena asked, yawning heavily.

"Nothing to worry about, sister. I just got worried about you. We're going back to our cave. I'll give you a ride on my back if you'd like." Nightmare offered. Seeleena smiled, and jumped on her back. The two headed out of the town, and everything was quiet again. It wasn't long before Nightmare heard the sounds of her sister sleeping on her back.

Back in the village, the Dodrio pondered the two Eevee were young, but he knew, in all three of his minds, that their journey would be difficult. Especially when they discovered the truth about the symbol. He felt sorry for them. They might never know peace.

 **(AN: So, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. And in case you are wondering, the story will switch between Nightmare and Seeleena, and Brock and Singularity. So they are up next. Until then, leave a like, review, and PM me. Until next time!)**


	4. The Guild and The Watcher

**(AN: I don't own Pokemon, only the plot and OCs. I hope you enjoy the chapter!)**

When Brock and Singularity's senses returned to them, they were in a darkened building of some sort. They didn't know where, but at least that much was clear. Magnezone was floating near them. They looked around.

"Where are we?" Brock and Singularity asked this question at the same time, as they both looked around. Magnezone replied.

"BRZZT! We are inside Wigglytuff's guild! I shall to take you to Wigglytuff! BRZZT!" Magnezone floated away, and toward a door. The three entered a room, where a Wigglytuff was facing them with an unreadable look. It almost seemed like he was faintly interested in what was going on, but was thinking of something more pleasant, as he seemed to be slightly drooling, and had a faraway look in his eyes. The Magnezone floated up to the Wigglytuff.

"BRZZT! Guildmaster! I have retrieved these two Pokemon! They both claim to be unknowing of explorers, exploration teams, or this guild. Yet both of them together defeated that S class outlaw team that has recently been causing trouble. It seemed suspicious, so I brought the two here! BRRZT!" The Magnezone said all this to the Wigglytuff, and it was hard to tell if the Wigglytuff had been paying attention at all. But soon, the question was answered. The Wigglytuff turned and focused his attention on the Zoroark and Poochyena.

"No knowledge of the guild? Even some of the smallest towns have usually heard of the guild. And not knowing of explorers and exploration teams? The two of you would've had to live far from much of our civilization to be completely ignorant. Tell me your stories, both of you." The Wigglytuff said. He didn't sound mean or demanding, rather friendly, but he had a strange aura of respect floating around him. Brock and Singularity glanced at each other, then Brock began to speak.

"Well, my name is Brock. I don't really remember much, except that I'm an orphan. I've spent most of my life traveling through dungeons for shelter. I have preferred being alone, so I hid from Pokemon much of the time if I saw them. Tonight was an exception. I didn't mean to get caught up in all of this." Brock said, looking at his paws.

"My name is Singularity. Like Brock here, I'm an orphan too. Also like him, I spent most of my life traveling through dungeons. I stayed for a while with a group of Zangoose, and that's where I got this scar, in a battle with some vicious Seviper." Singularity said this as he pointed at the scar on his face. "Also like Brock, tonight was an exception to staying out of the way. Some coincidence, I guess."

Wigglytuff stared at the two, another strange look on his face. "Well, I'm definitely sorry to hear that, but it does happen in our world. I can do nothing, except offer an opportunity to join us here in the guild. The two of you have led sheltered lives so far. You're still young. Why not join the guild? You'd be able to explore the world, help others, and catch criminals like the ones you did today!" He smiled at the two.

Brock and Singularity both looked at each other for a moment. Both could see the same reservations and yet excitement in the other's eyes. But both knew that they would have no reason to turn down this offer. They both nodded to Wigglytuff. "Yes, we'd like to join the guild." The two said this at the same time.

The Guildmaster grinned. "One more thing, as an exploration team, you'll need a team name! What will it be?" Again, the two looked at each other. They both had the same idea, and once again, they spoke together."

"Team Shadow."

Wigglytuff smiled even more. "Awesome! That makes it all official! I'm sure that the two of you are tired though. You two can go rest now, and I'll have another member explain the rules, and give you your stuff in the morning! Anyways, thank you for joining, and becoming the guild's newest apprentices! I'm sure we will all be friendly friends!" With that, the Magnezone floated out of the room.

"BRRZT! Follow me! I will show you two to your room! BRRZT!" The Magnezone said, floating away. The two tired Pokemon followed him, and he led them down the hallway, past a few other rooms, to an empty one with two nests. "BRRZT! Here is your room! Thank you for joining the guild! I look forward to working with you in the future! BRRZT!" Then he floated away, leaving the two new friends alone.

"Some day this has been, huh? I never saw this coming, not in a million years." Singularity said. "But I guess we're a team now."

Brock nodded. "Yeah, we are. We'll have to watch each other's backs. After all, we couldn't be a team otherwise. I thought we could try and get to know each other a bit better, don't you?" Brock asked the Zoroark.

"Yeah, I agree. We both got at least a decent picture of each other earlier. Strange, that we're both orphans. I haven't met another one around my age. All the other Pokemon I have known were adults before their parents died." Singularity told him.

"Same here, but I'm sure there are others… anyways, tell me about some of your adventures, and I'll tell you some of mine." And then the two began to talk, and they did, for several hours, until both were so tired they collapsed and fell asleep.

***********SOMEWHERE ELSE**************

The Umbreon opened his eyes. Just like he had seen in his dreams,the Zoroark and the Poochyena were together. This meant they were going down this path. He knew that he would meet the two sometime soon. But it would be a while. After all. His team wasn't going to reveal itself and its plan for a while. Not until their leader decided to. And knowing the path they were on, it would still be a while. Although he wondered which of the devious plans their leader would choose. The Umbreon knew there were many.

He got up, and walked through their base, passing by the sleeping forms of his teammates. As he approached his leader's den, he heard a voice call out "Come in!"softly. Their leader always knew when they approached.

"That Zoroark and Poochyena that you wanted me to watch have joined the guild. Kind of ironic, eh? Both their parents were part of it, but they themselves never knew." The Umbreon said.

"Indeed it is…" said the leader. "Keep watching them. I must now think of a plan. If what you told me before is true, then there will be a way to see if they will join us. I know that those two are important. I've watched them since they were young." The Umbreon nodded.

"As you wish. I shall watch them… They will not know… Good news too. Our base has no chance of being discovered for several months. After that, the chance is still low." He said.

"Good." the leader replied. "Now go be like the rest of your teammates, and sleep during the night. We're all going to need it."

The Umbreon nodded and left. His leader was right. They would need rest. For if some of the paths he saw of the future came, they couldn't get enough rest now. All he could do for now was watch.

 **(AN: Hey, thanks for reading this chapter of Shadows and Nightmares! Please favorite if you liked it, and review or PM me if you have something to say! Thanks for reading, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!)**


	5. Truth and Tears

**(AN: I only own the OCs and plot. Nothing else in the story.)**

"You want me to do what?" Seeleena looked confused, as her sister stood in front of her.

"I want you to take this package to the local library, and come pick it up later." Nightmare said. It's very important. And of course, we need supplies. The Pokemon in the last village from a few weeks ago took a liking to you, so I'm sure the ones in this one will be the same."

"Okay…" Seeleena said… "But… what will you be doing, while I'm gone? Don't you want to come with me?" Nightmare smiled, but shook her head.

"No, I must stay here, and guard our cave… I also have… things to do. I'm going to try and train, incase anyone comes. I need to be ready to fight." Nightmare hoped her voice didn't betray any of the worries that she held.

"...Okay! I'll try and come back before night this time. Good luck, Nightmare!" Seeleena smiled, and bounded off down the road. Nightmare watched her go, and sighed. Seeleena would have no idea what was in that package. It was a drawing of the symbol on her chest, and a request for information on it. Nightmare was afraid of what she might learn. But, she needed to know. She had to know. Why they were all afraid of the symbol. Why they were afraid of her. This was also why she had to train.

Nightmare wandered back into the cave. If she trained to fight, she'd be able to fight if she was attacked. But she was also afraid that if she did so, she might just make things work. She sighed again. She had hours to train herself until Seeleena got back. So she would.

***********HOURS LATER***********

It was around sunset when Seeleena finally returned. Nightmare had almost worn herself out by training all day. Nightmare saw that her sister was laden with the supplies, and was struggling to walk. Nightmare rushed out to help her.

"So, tell me, how did your visit to the town go? You were gone awhile." Nightmare asked, taking a few bags off of her sister.

'Oh, it was fun! Some of the local Pokemon wouldn't let me go until I played with them for a while. Besides, the Alakazam who was running the library said he'd need a while for whatever was in your package. So, here you go!" As the two sisters entered the cave, Seeleena handed the bag back over to Nightmare. Indeed, it was bulging with papers. "Also, the Alakazam said you didn't need to bring any of it back, it's yours to keep." Seeleena said.

"That's good." Nightmare said. "Now, I'm sure you're tired, so go to bed, sister. I'll see you in the morning." Nightmare told her sister, who was indeed yawning.

"Okay!" Seeleena bounded the rest of the way to the cave. When Nightmare got there, Seeleena had already placed their supplies on the ground, and was already curled up into a ball on her makeshift bed. Nightmare looked at her sister, and smiled to herself.

Then she turned to the bulging package that Seeleena had given to her. Within that bag lie the truth. The reason why she had been chased away from the towns. The thing that the Dodrio had hinted at. So much of her heart told her she didn't want to know what was in that bag. But she knew she had to. Nightmare went to the back of the cave, where Seeleena would hopefully not wake up while she was reading. Nightmare opened the packet with trembling paws, and pulled out a large stack of papers. A note fell out from the top. It read: _To whom it may concern, I gladly give you this information. I can only assume you are a younger researcher who doesn't remember what talking about this symbol could do to Pokemon. So, please do not return it. I hate looking at it myself. And I wish you luck as a researcher._ The note was unsigned.

Nightmare pulled out the top piece of paper, and began to read. _The Symbol of Power, inscribed here_ (Nightmare saw a drawing of the symbol on her own chest) _was originally one of the seven symbols of power created in ancient history. No one knows the true origins of any of the symbols, but many have theorized that they were given to symbolize certain aspects of life, during the age of legendaries, before they disappeared from the eye of the public, with few exceptions. However, in modern day, the symbol, originally used to represent power and leadership was taken on to be the crest of a dastardly clan of Eevees and Eeveelutions who formed a criminal empire that they called Team Oblivion. The clan was on its third generation when it was finally stopped. Despite its many allies and pawns, a few former members of Team Oblivion were able to lead a large team of explorers to attack the Team, when they mounted what they thought was a full scale raid on a dungeon, however, it was simply bait for a massive trap. The entirety of the clan was killed, for all refused to surrender. Many brave explorers were killed fighting the leaders, two mates, two Eevees with immense power named Betrayal, and his mate, Silence. Although criminal activities continue in the world, and many claim to be restarting Team oblivion, their effectiveness was destroyed with their leaders. Many Pokemon believe that the mates were hiding possible children, although this has never been confirmed, however based on studies done by explorers on their home base, it seems likely. If the child or children are still out there, it is likely that they are being raised by new families without prior knowledge of their family or history._

 _The four explorers who led the raid, a pair of mates, one pair of Zoroarks, and one of Mightyena have all been praised by the world for planning the raid that stopped the team, although they all say that it was a huge team effort. Both pairs have cut back on hero work, and seem to be content with raising families, although as of this writing, neither pair have had any children. They do however, still give advice and are sources of hope to many, and many consider them some of the leaders of the explorer world, alongside such famous explorers like Wigglytuff, who runs a guild in Treasure town, and his wandering friends, Team Charm. The Pokemon now face a more peaceful future, together, thanks to the efforts of these Pokemon._

Nightmare stopped reading. She couldn't continue, as tears were starting to obscure her vision. Now she knew. Her parents hadn't been brave, amazing explorers. They had been nothing but criminals. Tears fell from her face, and began to fall on the papers. She pushed them away before they could become too stained. Now she understood why everyone had ran. It reminded them of a horrible time where they lived in fear. And she reminded them of that. She couldn't blame them for hating this symbol. But she knew something. It had definitely commanded the respect of the criminals. She could use this to her advantage…

Nightmare turned back to the page, and reread the part about the leaders of the attack that had killed her parents. Those four… and the others… perhaps she could meet them… they could help her, couldn't they? Yes, maybe so. She would have to do it alone, so that Seeleena wouldn't have to see anything with criminal Pokemon. Nightmare shuddered. Tomorrow, she'd have a job. She had to go find some criminals, to help her track down the explorers who had killed her parents. They had to help her. They had to.

 **(AN: Thank you all so much for reading this chapter in Shadows and Nightmares! As always, if you enjoyed it, favorite, follow, leave a review or PM me, also, share it with everyone you know and love! Until next time!)**


	6. Outings and Plans

**(AN: As usual, I don't own Pokemon. I do own some of the OCs and plot. Enjoy!)**

"UP AND AT 'EM! IT'S MORNING!" Singularity and Brock were woken up by a loud, booming voice. Singularity and Brock opened their eyes to see a Loudred standing in their doorway. "Wake up you two! Don't be late for the morning chant!" The Loudred left, as Singularity and Brock got to their feet and slowly followed him outside. The two stood in the back, while the rest of the guild members chanted.

"ONE! DON'T SHIRK WORK! TWO! RUN AWAY AND PAY! THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES! HOORAY!" Most of the guild members dispersed, after this, and Chatot came hopping up to the two.

"Welcome to your first day at the guild. Remember in the future, that the chant you just heard must be done every morning, so memorize it!" Chatot said. "Now come with me, I'll show you a bit about how the guild works!"

(A short time later)

"And that's about it! Now, usually, when a new team joins us, we usually have them do easier jobs, such as retrieving an item in a small dungeon, or things like that. But the two of you have already proven that you can handle tougher situations,. So, I'll assign you to a specific task today, but after today, I expect the two of you to choose jobs and carry them out yourself. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me or one of the other guild members!" Chatot said, smiling.

"Okay… what are we doing today, then?" Singularity asked, voicing the thought that had also been in Brock's mind.

"Glad you asked! I'd like you to go to Apple Woods. At the very end of the dungeon, is a grove of Perfect Apple trees. The Guildmaster loves Perfect Apples, so I want you to go there and bring back as many as you can. Each of the guild members will do this at some point, and multiple times, so I thought it might be a good starting task for you!" Chatot chirped. "Good luck!" Chatot hopped away.

"Well, let's head out then." Brock said. "We should get started. I suppose bringing home the Guildmaster's favorite food would be a good thing." Brock smiled. "I've wondered though… he seems so lax and docile, but he's apparently the greatest explorer ever."

"Yeah, although, Chatot sort of had a short mental breakdown when he was having a flashback to the Guildmaster being angry… I don't think I ever want to see that, if someone like Chatot can't handle it." Singularity laughed. "Let's head out!"

The two soon left town, and entered the woods. Mostly, the exploration through the dungeon was completely normal. The only strange thing that happened was one Pokemon, one that they were not sure what it was, fled as soon as they approached a room. Neither Pokemon could understand why, but both shrugged it off. The two continued on.

That Pokemon stood around the corner, breathing hard. She growled to herself. "They almost saw me. They cannot see me yet. It's just like he told us. That stupid Umbreon and his visions." The Leafeon shook her head. "No, he isn't stupid… he's just always right. I can't be seen. Our team isn't ready yet… Yes, our leader is right. One day, we will rule." The Leafeon teleported from the dungeon, her mission complete.

(TIME SKIP ONCE AGAIN)

Once the two Pokemon reached the end of the dungeon, they retrieved all the Perfect Apples they could, and returned to Treasure Town, their bags laden with the apples. They brought them to Wigglytuff.

"Chatot! Guildmaster! We've returned from Apple Woods!" Both turned around to look at them. Wigglytuff looked at them, drool leaking from a corner of his mouth.

"Perfect Apples! Oh yay, friendly friends!" Wigglytuff cried, and he rushed forward, crushing them both in a hug."

"C-cant breathe…" Singularity wheezed.

"L-lungs… collapsing…" Brock managed.

"G-guildmaster, perhaps you should let them go…" Chatot said.

"Of course!" Wigglytuff let the two Pokemon go, collapsing to the ground. Then he immediately rushed to the bags, and started to devour the Perfect Apples.

"You should go rest before dinner…" Chatot said. "The Guildmaster loves his Perfect Apples." The two nodded and left.

(LATER, THAT NIGHT)

Brock and Singularity rested in their room, reflecting on the day.

"Some day, huh Brock? I've never felt such strength from a Pokemon, like the Guildmaster."

"Yeah, no kidding. The only strange part, was that one Pokemon who fled from us. Although… It may have just been a younger dungeon Pokemon, who didn't want to fight us." Brock reasoned.

"That makes sense." Singularity replied. "Anyways, let's get to sleep. I'm sure we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow…" The two nodded, and settled down, and soon fell into sleep.

(SOMEWHERE ELSE)

The rest of his teammates were asleep. The Umbreon stood in front of his leader.

"She was almost caught by Team Shadow today, although I watched them. They don't even know what she is." he said.

"Good…" their leader said. "And you, you must continue watching them. They are important. I know they are. I am starting to think of a plan… In fact… I think I know what I wish to do… I know that our Leafeon is quite beautiful… And we need to get information… We must send her… and our other important member to them. Perhaps if they are in love, then their judgements shall be clouded… and, when they learn the truth, their anger will cloud them as well… Yes, love can be the strongest tool… Don't you agree?"

"Yes… I believe that of all the plots you could have chosen, that will be the most effective strategy that you could have devised… Anyways, if you wish, I can prepare her for the mission. I assume you wish to prepare the other?" the Umbreon asked.

"Well, yes, I shall. I will talk to her in the morning. I think… she may take an interest to Singularity… perhaps our Leafeon will take an interest to Brock. But, I am not the one to decide. We shall talk to them. I believe that this will succeed." The leader responded.

"Yes… Our other members will still be out on missions. Each one has a role to play…" the Umbreon responded. "That much is clear."

"Yes… All my planning has been for a reason… each of my plans has had a reason. Each of you have had a role, and a purpose. You have been our watcher. That is why you are each here. For your abilities. Your special skills. Many other things. I swear." The leader said. "When I am done, everyone will understand. Unlike most of my life, being those who do not understand. They will understand." she growled, her eyes glowing.

"They will." It was not a question.

 **(AN: Hello, thank you for reading this chapter of Shadows and Nightmares! If you enjoyed, then review, leave a favorite, and share it with everyone you know and love! Make sure to PM me with suggestions, or criticisms. Or, leave a review. Anyways, I'll see you next time.)**


	7. Criminals and Dreams

**(AN: I don't own Pokemon, just some of the OCs and plot.)**

"You're going to do what?" Seeleena asked her sister, young wide eyes filled with worry.

"I'm just going out for a bit. Don't worry, I'll stay hidden, incase any other Pokemon try and attack. I'll be safe." Nightmare told her little sister, reassuringly.

'But what will I do?" Seeleena asked.

"Go back into the village, and see if you can play with the village children. Don't mention me to them, but remember to come back before the end of the day." Nightmare said to her sister.

"Okay… just please don't get into any trouble, sister. I don't know what I'd ever do if anything ever happened to you, and I had to be on my own!" Seeleena said.

"You'd be strong." Nightmare replied. "I know that you'd follow your heart, and make good decisions. Now, run along. I'll see you tonight." Seeleena nodded, and bounded down the road energetically. Nightmare grimaced to herself. The task she was about to do was unpleasant. It was tearing at her heart, to do it. But somewhere deep inside her, Nightmare knew that she had to do it. It was the beginning of something, her inner voice told her.

So, listening to that inner voice inside her, Nightmare set off on a different road, looking for the criminals that had been her family's closest allies.

(TIME SKIP)

It took her awhile, but finally, Nightmare spotted a shady-looking Raichu. She approached the Pokemon.

"You! Are you a criminal?" Nightmare demanded, as she hopped out of the bushes. The Raichu glared at her symbol on her chest.

"Yes, I am. So the rumors are true. Team Oblivion did have a kid. Where have you been hiding all this time?" the Raichu responded.

"That's none of your concern, I'm afraid. The point is, I need you to do something for me. It is of great importance that you do so." Nightmare growled at him, doing her best to sound menacing.

"I was still young when I learned of your family, but I remember the rules. Among criminals, the words and commands of your family still supersede all others. So, how may I be of service, oh great one?" The Raichu said this dramatically, and over-bowing.

"Get up." Nightmare said commandingly. "I want you to find all of the members of the team that killed my parents. And capture them, alive. Then come to me again. How long do you think that it will take?" Nightmare asked.

"Hmmm…. Well, considering the amount of Pokemon, the amount of Pokemon I'd need to help me pull this off… I'd say about a month. And here's another question. Where do you want me to keep them. And how do you want me to find you?" The Raichu asked.

"Simple. I will return here in exactly one month from today. As for where you keep them, find a cave or something that can hold them. If you haven't captured them in a month, I also want to know that then. I expect good things from you. Remember, I want them alive. There is something important I must do." Nightmare told him.

"Understood. I'd better get working quickly. This will be the biggest job I've ever done, and it will need plenty of planning…" he muttered, as he walked off.

Nightmare watched him go. Now the fate of these Pokemon was up to that Raichu, until she could meet them. She wished she could just try to go find them, but they of all Pokemon would definitely attack her. So they had to be at her mercy, if they were to truly talk fairly with her. She hated using criminals, and she hated the idea of capturing Pokemon who were just doing their jobs. But if this inner voice that had guided her would continue to be right, it would be necessary. Nightmare thought back to everything she had learned. She vowed something to herself right then. Something she would discuss with her sister. This was the thing she needed to do. She would discuss this with her tonight.

(TIME SKIP)

"Nightmare! I'm back!" Seeleena called, as she entered the cave, happy and full of energy. "You were right, I did play with the village children, and it was fun! What were you doing today?"

Nightmare, who had been sitting down, got up as her sister entered. "I took a walk, and did some training. Nothing too big, but I feel stronger." Nightmare said. "And also… I thought of something that I want to talk to you about." Nightmare said.

"Really? What's that?" Seeleena asked. "Do we have to move again?" Seeleena looked sad. "I really liked the other kids…"

"I was thinking, Seeleena. We really only have each other. But… I thought that when we're a little older, and stronger we could become an exploration team! And we could find others to join us too! I mean, I don't know what kind of Pokemon we'd want with us, but I want us to lead a team one day!" Nightmare said, a far-off look in her eyes.

"Wow! That sounds so awesome! I'd love to do that, one day!" Seeleena said. "But you're right, I think I need to get bigger and stronger first. But yeah. I promise, that one day, we'll be the leaders of the best exploration team there is!" Seeleena cried, her young voice full of energy. She leaped onto Nightmare's back.

"We'll be on top of the world!" Nightmare said. "And we'll do it together, Sister. Well, us and whoever we decide to have join us, in our exploits."

"I know! Why don't we have one of every evolution of Eevee join us! You taught me about all the different things that we can evolve into… so, why not have each one join us!" Seeleena suggested.

"That's a great idea. When we're feeling strong, we can go the great Eeveelution festival that they have every year, and find members!" Nightmare said, her excitement growing.

"And we'll be the best of the best, and show the world our power!" Seeleena cried happily.

"We will indeed, sister. We will do it together, and someday, with our future teammates." Nightmare said. "But for now, I think we should settle for getting a good night's sleep."

Seeleena nodded, and yawned. "I think I'll sleep on your back tonight, sister." And in a minute, Seeleena was already asleep on Nightmare's back. Nightmare just smiled to herself as she laid herself down on her nest. With the little heartbeat of her sister, and the warmth of the nest, Nightmare soon fell asleep, both sisters sleeping in peace, and dreaming big.

 **(AN: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Shadows and Nightmares! If you did, make sure to leave a favorite, and share it with all you know and love. If you have things to say, then PM me or leave a review! Until next time guys!)**


	8. Allies and Vengance

**(AN: Pokemon does not belong to me. Just the plot and some OCs. Enjoy!)**

"...AND THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES! HOORAY!" The guild dispersed as usual, and Singularity and Brock faced each other.

"So, what are we doing today, Singularity? We just finished up a few jobs." Brock said.

"Well, let's go check the board, shall we?" Singularity said.

"Actually, I have a specific job for the two of you." Chatot said, fluttering as he came over.

"Really? What is it?" Brock asked, wondering what specific job that Chatot could be wanting them to do.

"Well, one of our top spies that usually looks for criminals found two Pokemon are being held hostage in the Lost Wilderness, so you'll need to be careful." Chatot said. "We're sending the two of you because we don't often get hostage missions, and they are to be taken extremely seriously. And, I believe that the two of you together are strong enough to rescue them. The two Pokemon that you're looking for are a Leafeon and and Eevee, both girls, apparently." Chatot continued.

"Alright then, we got it. Did this spy get which floor they were on?" Singularity asked.

"Of course. They are down on B7F, so make sure to look for them carefully! I believe in you two, so I wish you luck! I know you can rescue them!" Chatot encouraged, fluttering nervously again.

The two friends nodded, and left the guild. "This is the first time I've ever even heard of a hostage situation." Brock said. "I mean, I knew that they happened, just not that the guild handled them."

"Yeah, me neither." Singularity said. "But regardless, we had better go save those two, an Eevee and a Leafeon I believe he said? I can expect anyone that can be held hostage is in serious danger. Those two might be young, as well. Perhaps they just don't really know how to fight or something."

"I guess we'll find out when we get there, huh? Anyways, I'm sure that the family and friends of those two are worried. We'd better hurry." Brock said. Singularity nodded in response as they headed out.

(TIME SKIP)

By the time Brock and Singularity had reached the seventh floor, they were already having trouble. The dungeon was full of some strong Pokemon, but they had fought their way through. As they searched around the dust-ridden dunes of the dungeon, they began to hear voices echoing throughout the corridor. No dungeon Pokemon appeared to be in sight at all. The two friends snuck quietly throughout the dungeon halls, following the echoes of voices. It wasn't long before, around a corner, they heard voices. Team Shadow paused around the corner to listen.

"You can't keep us here forever! I bet that we'll be rescued real soon! Someone will teach you jerks a lesson!" A voice from the other room, female, clearly one of the prisoners.

"Yeah! Pokemon will come looking for us! They'll teach you two meanies that you can't just kidnap innocent Pokemon for no reason!" It was another voice, female too, but younger sounding.

"Those must be the prisoners." Brock whispered. Singularity nodded, and listened closer.

"Too bad for you." Came another voice, calm and male this time. "I know that there will be some who will come looking for you. Luckily, I will leave them up to the underlings."

"Yeah! Don't fail us!" Came yet another voice, female and strong. There was a noise as the two voices of the captors faded.

"They must have teleported from the dungeon. But they don't matter for now. We have to rescue the captives." Singularity whispered back. Brock nodded, and he and Singularity leaped around the corner, and charged into the room. They were expecting a trap. And that's what they got. For no sooner had they charged into the room, next to the two prisoners, did they find themselves surrounded by a Lucario, three Shiftry, a Medicham, two Lickitung, and a Spinda. Brock and Singularity turned to the prisoners.

"We're here to save you. Will you help us fight our way out of here?" Singularity asked.

"You bet. I'm sick of all these idiots." the Leafeon said. "We tried to fight before, but there were too many of them. We can do it now though, with your help." The four Pokemon nodded. The Lucario glared at them.

"This is my revenge, exploration team, for everything that happened before. You led to us getting captured! Now is payback! I'll defeat you, and get my old teammates back!" The Lucario's eyes burned in rage.

"Not a chance!" Brock said. "Because this time, we are an exploration team. And we're much better. Prepare to meet justice!" Brock instantly leaped at the Lucario, bowling him over. The rest of the group closed in.

Two of the Shiftry instantly charged Singularity, but he sent a flamethrower their way to hold them. They both staggered away in pain. The third one joined Lucario in fighting Brock. The Leafeon jumped to his side, and she shot Razor Leaf after Razor Leaf at them, while Brock continued to bite them with Fire Fang.

Meanwhile, Singularity fought back-to-back with the Eevee, who was fighting the two Lickitung. The Eevee used Sand Attack, but aimed at the Lickitung's tongue. As it was distracted, trying to get the sand out of its mouth, Singularity dodged out of the way of the Medicham charging at them, then wrapped it up in the Lickitung's tongue. The other Lickitung looked around in fear, and called for help. Spinda came to the rescue, and Dizzy Punched Singularity, who stumbled away, confused.

Brock leaped in the air, and smashed the Lucario who he knocked out into the Shiftry that had been helping him fight. They were sent smashing into the wall. But in response, the other two Shiftry charged Brock and the Leafeon. They engaged in battle, but were struggling. The Eevee, now no longer facing an enemy leaped onto Singularity's back.

"Face forward and use Flamethrower!" She growled into his ear. Singularity took a moment to try and understand this, but then did blast a Flamethrower in the direction of the Shiftry who were fighting. They howled in pain, but they looked up in fear, as one Shiftry saw Brock and the Leafeon leaping onto him, and the other being attacked by Singularity and the Eevee.

The last Lickitung and Spinda attacked from behind, but both were thrown off and into the wall. The fight was over. The four Pokemon all collapsed to the floor, panting.

"Are… you… two okay?" Singularity panted, as the Eevee climbed off his back. The Leafeon nodded.

"Thanks to you two, we are. I must ask though, what are your names?" The Leafeon asked.

"I am Singularity, and this is my friend Brock. We just joined Wigglytuff's guild about three months ago." Singularity said.

"I'm Aroma." the Leafeon said. "And this is my good friend Seeleena." The Eevee nodded in response to hearing her name.

"Well, I'm glad we rescued you. We can take you back to Treasure Town, but what about after that? Do you have anywhere we can take you after you have healed?" Brock asked.

"No, we don't actually. We were just in a different dungeon, before we were captured." Seeleena said. "And before you ask, no, we didn't see our captors. They stayed in the shadows the whole time."

"Well, I suppose it could be worse. We at least got these eight idiots." Singularity sighed. "Well… if you have nowhere else to go, would you like to join us in the guild?"

Aroma and Seeleena exchanged glances. "We don't have anything better to do. And we need to repay you for all of your hard work. We'll come with you." Aroma said, smiling.

With the unconscious criminals with them, the four left the dungeon.

(TIME SKIP)

"I see! So these two will be joining you two in the guild then?" Wigglytuff asked. "How great! I love new members! Friendly friends! Will you be staying here in the guild, or elsewhere?"

"Here in the guild, if you don't mind." Aroma said. "We don't have anywhere else to be."

"Okay! I'll have beds set up for you in Singularity and Brock's room by tonight! Welcome to the guild!" Wigglytuff yelled in happiness.

Later that night, the four new friends settled down, tired after a long day, and excited for a new adventure tomorrow.

(ELSEWHERE)

"Everything is going according to plan." the Umbreon told his leader. "Aroma and Seeleena were rescued by Team Shadow, and have joined them."

"Good, good." the Leader said. "And they fought alongside each other already. Their bond will only grow with time, and this will help. The eight that were captured by the guild were inconsequential." the Leader continued.

"Indeed, now, we continue to prepare. We don't have to do much for now. We must let their bond grow before the next stage." the Watcher said.

"Yes, I agree. For now, we wait." the Leader responded. "When they find out about us, I want our Sylveon and Espeon members to attack them. I believe it will be the best way." the Leader said.

"You know best, of course." the Umbreon said. "I will continue to watch." He exited his leader's chamber. He just hoped that the secret he was keeping never came to pass. It could destroy everything.

 **(AN: And that's that! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter of Shadows and Nightmares! If you did, make sure to leave a favorite, follow, and share it with everyone you know and love! Feel free to leave a review or PM me if you have something to say! Anyways, I'll see you guys next time! Until then!)**


	9. Prisoners and Blood

**(AN: I don't own Pokemon, just the plot and OCs, yadda yadda yadda. Also, there is a wee bit of blood and all that in this chapter. Enjoy!)**

The month or so that the Raichu had requested had elapsed. Nightmare knew she would have to go and find him. But she would do so tonight, after Seeleena had gone to bed. She was nervous. She hoped that the Raichu had got them. She needed to talk to these explorers. They were the key. If she could just get them to understand the truth about her, and spread the news, Pokemon would believe it if it came from them. She hoped.

For now, during the day, she and Seeleena agreed to train in battle. Fighting was important, for when they began to explore in dungeons.

"Aww, come on Nightmare! Go easy on me! I'm still not as strong as you yet!" Seeleena pouted as she went flying past Nightmare, while trying to attack.

"All the more reason to not go easy on you. If you learn now how to beat enemies that are bigger than you, you can easily surprise them in battle. In fact, if you stay small, that would be an advantage forever. You will seem small, your enemies may underestimate you. And with that, you can easily surprise and defeat overconfident opponents." Nightmare said.

"Like this?" Seeleena asked, flying out of nowhere, and bowling over Nightmare. Nightmare looked up at her sister.

"Exactly. Anyone who stops to taunt or talk, that is a good time to attack them. When they're distracted. And don't forget too, when you have them pinned down, attack them. When they try to counterattack, jump away. The biggest key is avoidance. Avoid your enemy. If they keep attacking, and missing it can wear them down, then you can attack when they've worn themselves down, and you're still good, because all you've been doing is dodging." Nightmare said.

"Wow, Nightmare. How did you learn all this stuff?" Seeleena asked, wide-eyed.

"A lot of it came from that package you brought me from the village." It wasn't a complete lie. There had been info about fighting in there. "And the rest of it, I've figured out on my own, but I suppose I haven't really tested it. But I'm sure this will work. Don't worry, sister. Soon, we'll be strong enough to go test these strategies in real dungeons.

"Okay! Boy, this training sure has worn me out. Can we stop for today? And eat? And sleep?" Seeleena begged her sister.

"Of course, I can't wear you down completely. Then you wouldn't be ready for training tomorrow!" Nightmare said with a smile. "Or whenever we do it next. Anyways, sure, let's eat."

(TIME SKIP)

Nightmare left the cave, creeping silently, hoping that Seeleena wouldn't wake up. In case she didn Nightmare had left a note saying that she had gone out for a nighttime walk, and would return soon. As Nightmare made her way to the place where she had met the Raichu, her heart filled with dread. What if she had to fight? What would happen? She didn't know. She was worried. But she was probably working herself up over nothing. The captured Pokemon would be upset, but hopefully, they would understand. Nightmare reached the spot, and waited.

"There you are, come here." The Raichu hissed at her from a bush. Nightmare walked closer to the bush, and came closer. "Don't worry, I got them. I'll take you to the cave we're holding them in. You can meet them. They've been waiting for you." Nightmare only nodded. "Let's go then." he continued. And they did.

Nightmare still couldn't shake the feeling of dread from her as she followed the Raichu through this winding path that they took. It was as if a voice inside her was trying to tell her something. To Nightmare, it seemed to be telling her to turn back, to not go in the cave. If she went in the cave, things would never be the same. But it was too late now. For the cave was looming in front of her. And the Raichu was going in.

Nightmare followed, and the Raichu led her further, keeping the place well lit with his electricity. He paused before entering a larger cavern. "They are through here." Nightmare nodded, and they continued.

Nightmare entered the large cavern, and before her, sat about twenty or so Pokemon guarded by about five Pokemon each. The Raichu spoke to the crowd.

"All of you have been waiting, wondering who asked you to be brought here. I present her to you now." he stepped aside, revealing Nightmare.

Nightmare surveyed all of the members of the team. She quickly spotted the leaders, the two Zoroark, and the two Mightyena.

"You four! What are your names?" Nightmare demanded, barking.

"Horizon." The male Zoroark said.

"Gravity." The female Zoroark continued.

"Boulder." The male Mightyena growled

"Blazer." The female Mightyena responded.

"I am Nightmare, surviving daughter of Team Oblivion. I know that you, all of you, are wondering why I asked to have you brought here. Well, to be honest, if I had approached you myself, I don't think you would have been as willing to listen. As much as I didn't like it, I needed help, and the only Pokemon who haven't run from me in terror are criminals."

"But you are just a child!" Horizon protested. "Why would they run from you?"

"I asked myself the same thing, after I got chased out of two villages, but, with the help of my sister, I discovered the truth, about my parents, and about everyone here. How they tricked my parents, and killed them.

"We didn't really want to." Gravity said. "But they wouldn't stop. They said they would never stop until they died. So we had to kill them to save the world."

"Hold on a minute, sister?" Boulder interrupted. "Our best sources would have guessed one egg, at most. What do you mean?"

"My sister's egg was laid only a couple days before my parents left on their last mission. They told me that they might not come back, and instead told me to brand my sister, as they had done to me, and name her Sabotage. I did neither. I gave her no brand, and named her Seeleena. Something… something inside me wouldn't let me do it."

"So, you've been having Seeleena do things for you then, when you need something from a place?' Blazer asked.

"Just like I advised you, no less. Good job." This voice came from another side of the room. It was the Dodrio from the other village.

"I wish we could have met again under better circumstances." Nightmare said. "The point is, I'm the last one with this symbol, as far as I know. All I want, is for you to spread that. Spread the message to let them know to not chase me away. I want to live a normal life, I want to be an explorer myself! But I can't do any of that if I'm being chased away everywhere I go!" Nightmare spoke to them.

"I never asked to have this family, or this symbol. I just want to be a great explorer." Nightmare said.

"We could do that, I think." Gravity said. "Now, will you please let us go? We have young children of our own, and they need us."

"Sure thing. What are their names?" Nightmare asked.

"Our son is named Singularity." Horizon said.

"And our son is called Brock." Horizon said fondly.

"All right then. Perhaps, someday soon, I can visit, once this has been taken care of." Nightmare said. Boulder nodded in agreement. "All right! Let them go!" Nightmare commanded to the guards. Not one moved. "I said, let them go!":

"I'm afraid that I can't let them do that, Nightmare." The Raichu stepped forward, his eyes glinting. "You see, many of these Pokemon have scores to settle. They want their revenge for destroying Team Oblivion, or others. And we just can't let this opportunity get past us. You were a fool in trying to command me, or my friends. So, I suppose you can be forced to sit and watch as all of your new friends DIE!" The Raichu lunged forward, pinning Nightmare to the ground, and she was unable to move. "KILL THEM ALL!" the Raichu screamed.

Nightmare watched in horror, as the guards turned to their prisoners, and began attacking. The prisoners were strong, but against five opponents, all moderately strong, with no teammates, they were hopelessly outnumbered and overpowered. She watched as the Dodrio that had helped her got taken down by a vicious Houndoom, and Horizon get piled on by a Machoke and trampled by a Rapidash.

"Hah! Yes, my friends, get them!" the Raichu cheered. Nightmare growled, anger and sadness fueling her. Suddenly, she felt power coursing through her. A glow encased her, and suddenly she stood as a Sylveon, having thrown off the Raichu. "What the hell?" he growled. "No matter, I will kill you myself!"

The Raichu charged forward, trying an Iron Tail, but Nightmare grabbed him with her new tentacles, and threw him against the wall. The power flowing through her surrounded her again, and now she was a Flareon, who blasted the Raichu with a Flamethrower.

"How the hell are you doing that?" the Raichu demanded.

"I don't know. But I'll use it to KILL YOU!" Nightmare screamed, as she then transformed into an Umbreon. She dashed forward, in the darkness, and slashed the Raichu across the face, and blood began to drip down his face. She then used Shadow Pulse to send him flying, and he was impaled along a rigid wall, and fell to the ground, motionless.

Nightmare flickered back to being an Eevee, and quickly saw that the battle was not going well for the prisoners. Only Horizon, Gravity, Boulder, and Blazer were still alive, and they were bleeding from multiple wounds, and surrounded by more than thirty Pokemon attacking.

"NO!" Nightmare screamed, and she did so in her Sylveon form, using Hyper Voice. Some of the guards fell. But the rest continued to attack. As Nightmare leaped down, and tried to attack, she fought the guards, but there were too many, and plenty still fought the other four. Nightmare's rage encased her again, and now, as an Espeon, she used her Psychic powers to start crushing the opposing Pokemon, sending them flying into spikes, or throwing them high enough so that they would die on the way back down.

In several minutes, the outlaws were all dead, and the four last explorers were dying too. Nightmare reverted to her original Eevee form, and walked to them.

"I'm… sorry. I… I didn't know they would do this… this is all my fault…" Nightmare said, beginning to cry.

"D-don't be…" Horizon said, struggling to speak.

"Y-you fought bravely." Gravity said.

"A-and you p-proved yourself a good Pokemon…" Boulder said.

"It w-wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known w-what they were going to do. J-just please, one thing. W-watch over our children. Do it from afar, so that you d-don't get chased off." Blazer said.

"I will. I will watch them. I promise." Nightmare said. The four dying Pokemon each managed to struggle out one last thank you, before they too, fell limp. Nightmare sat there, crying for a while, before realizing something. She left the cave, and used her powers to have it cave in. No one would ever use it again. She left, returning to her own, after washing herself, where Seeleena still lay, blissfully unaware of everything. Nightmare only hoped that it could continue that way.

 **(AN: Ooh, things are getting real! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Shadows and Nightmares, and if you did, favorite, follow, and share it with everyone you know and love. Also, please leave a review or send me a PM with questions, comments, or opinions, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Until then!)**


	10. Guilt and Love

**(AN: I don't own Pokemon, just the plot and some OCs. Anyways, hope you enjoy!)**

"...AND THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES! HOORAY!" The guild dispersed as usual after doing the morning chant, and Singularity, Brock, Aroma, and Seeleena all turned to each other.

"So what are we doing today?" Aroma asked, calm as usual. Chatot hopped over.

"Your first mandatory job since rescuing the two of you!" He said, fluttering. "Up on , there is a couple of suspicious pokemon that we want you to check out. They should be up on the peak! We don't really know what they're doing, but we want you to check it out. They might not actually be doing anything bad, but please check it out." Chatot said.

"You got it!" Brock said. "We'll take care of them!"

"Don't forget to be prepared to fight, just in case they are criminals." Chatot reminded them. The four friends nodded, and exited the guild. They took some time to prepare. The Kecleon brothers were off on vacation, and they had one of their cousins watching over the shop. The four went to shop there. He jumped as they approached.

"S-sorry, be right with you." he said, bustling around. "Sorry about that. I've just always been jumpy. I've seen plenty of bad Pokemon come to my shop back in my town, so it's sort of a force of habit… That one symbol…" he murmured to himself. "Anyways, how can I help out?"

"We just need a few supplies." Singularity said, as he handed him a list.

Soon, the four headed out of town. "We don't even know the targets, do we?" Seeleena asked.

"Nope." Singularity responded. "They may not even be targets, but who knows? Usually, suspicious circumstances don't end well. But I suppose we won't know, until we get there." The other three nodded in agreement. Today's job would be difficult, but probably not rediculous.

(TIME SKIP)

The four new friends reached the dungeon, and began to climb. Mostly, their journey was uneventful, except when they were fighting. They were all glad they had so many Max Elixirs, because they kept running out of moves. After a long time, they finally had almost reached the Peak. Singularity turned to face his three companions.

"All right, here we go. We just need to check out the Pokemon on the next level. We need to be prepared to fight, or just leave." Singularity said.

"Of course. We stand together." Aroma said. The four Pokemon ascended the final stairs in the dungeon, and emerged on the peak. As they did, they saw the outlines of two Pokemon sitting away from them. They both stood, and turned to face the four as they approached. Their forms were revealed to be a Sylveon and an Espeon, both females.

"You finally made it." said the Sylveon. Her voice seemed familiar.

"That's the voice of one of our captors!" Aroma gasped. "You're definitely a criminal!"

"That depends on your point of view." the Sylveon said. "But yes, we have been sent here to fight you. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ribbon. My companion here, is Solstice." Solstice nodded in response to her name. Ribbon turned to face them.

"You know…" Ribbon continued. "After everything that we were told about you… I must say, it's really nice to finally meet you. I know that now, we are opposing each other. But one day, I'm sure we can be friends." Ribbon said.

"If you just came with us now, and gave yourselves up, this would go faster." Aroma said.

"Ah yes, I remember hearing about you two. Seeleena, Aroma, you can leave the fighting to us. We'll just go two on two, I think." Ribbon said. She reached her tentacles out, to try and remove them, but both Brock and Singularity leaped forward, Brock blocking them from Aroma, and Singularity from Seeleena. The two friends glared up at their opponents.

"No, I think you'll face us together. You won't harm Seeleena!" Singularity growled.

"And I won't let you hurt Aroma!" Brock added.

"Aww, protecting your girlfriends?" Ribbon asked, in a mocking voice. Then she smiled, like she knew something they didn't. "Very well. If that's how you want it, then so be it! Let us fight!"

The battle was more difficult than it should have been. Solstice immediately leaped forward, attacking Brock, but staggered away after being hit by a Crunch. Ribbon used her tentacles to grab Singularity, and threw him against a rock pile. Singularity crumpled as he fell to the ground, and Seeleena rushed over to him, to help. Solstice sent out a wave of Psychic, that knocked everyone down, but a Leaf Blade in response from Aroma had that stopped quickly. Singularity came charging out of nowhere, and used Shadow claw to help bring down Solstice.

Solstice collapsed under the attack, but managed to send a Psybeam into Seeleena who had tried charging her, and got hit back. Singularity leaped to save her, and grabbed her out of the air, and they together went crashing into another boulder. Aroma and Brock turned to face Ribbon. Ribbon growled.

"So, you got Solstice. I did try and warn our leader that she wouldn't be suited for this mission. No matter. Moonblast!" Ribbon cried. The light began to gather above her, but Brock and Aroma weren't sticking around to get hit. They both charged in opposite directions to surround Ribbon. But Ribbon released the energy in a wave, and hit them both. Both were stunned, but then, with a combined force of Aroma's Leaf Blade, and Brock's Dark Pulse, Ribbon fell too. Brock and Aroma advanced on the fallen Ribbon, pinning her down, just as Singularity, who struggled back to his feet, with Seeleena who now was holding onto his back. They pinned down Solstice.

"Tell us! Who are you working for?" Brock growled.

"You want to know?" Ribbon growled up at him. "We're part of Team Eeveementals. The best exploration team ever! You won this time, but we didn't even use our full power. You'll see us again sometime, but for now, we must retreat. Don't worry, we'll meet again. Hopefully, as friends…" she breathed out, and then she and Solstice were warped away before anyone from Team Shadow could react.

"Let's,,, let's just head home. Everyone will want to know about this." Singularity said. His three friends nodded, and they too, exited the dungeon.

(TIME SKIP)

It was night time now, and the four members of Team Shadow were out walking around town. Brock was walking with Aroma, and Seeleena was with Singularity. Aroma and Brock were walking to Sharpedo Bluff, and Singularity and Seeleena to the beach.

Aroma and Brock were walking side by side.

"Some mission today, huh?" Brock asked her.

"Yeah…" Aroma said, hiding her guilt. She had hated fighting her own teammates, and even more than that, she hated lying to Brock. Even worse, what she was feeling…

"Aroma… There's something I wanted to tell you. Remember… remember what Ribbon said about defending you…" Brock said. "Well… she wasn't wrong in a respect. I… I really do care for you. And I don't want to see you hurt. Well… I just wanted you to know." Brock said, shyly. Aroma bowed her head.

"Brock…" Aroma said. "I… I feel the same way about you." Her heart was overflowing with love and guilt. She was supposed to have Brock fall in love with her, but not fall in love herself… but it was too late. She had fallen into that trap."I really do. I care about you." Brock smiled widely.

(MEANWHILE)

As Seeleena and Singularity walked along the beach, the cool air surrounded them.

"That was a really crazy mission today… that was a really intense battle… But I'm glad that you were that to protect me." Seeleena said.

"Yeah… seeing you thrown around… I didn't want you hurt." Singularity said.

"I was amazed when you caught me in the air… but I'm really thankful." Seeleena said. "And I know I didn't help that much today, but I will!"

"It's okay, you did perfect. And you'll keep doing so in the future, I believe in you. I believe in everyone." Singularity said. Seeleena secretly wondered if he would still say that in the future.

"Speaking of the future… Singularity, I want you to know… that I really like you… you… I don't know what else to say…" Seeleena said.

Singularity looked down at Seeleena. "Why do you think I was trying to save you, Seeleena. It's not just that you're my teammate, but I really care for you too." Singularity told her.

Seeleena's eyes widened in happiness, but behind them, where Singularity couldn't see, was an intense fear of what she was doing. Because, like Aroma, she was afraid that she was really in love with Singularity, when she wasn't supposed to be. But as she leaped into Singularity's arms, she just didn't care.

(ELSEWHERE)

"Singularity and Brock have fallen for Seeleena and Aroma, just as you wanted. It took them about three months, as you know. But that's just fine." The Umbreon said. "Also, Ribbon and Solstice were defeated, but of course, they didn't use their full power." he said, continuing his report.

"Yes… good. I am glad." the Leader said. "For now, we must wait. Continue our preparations, let their bonds grow deeper."

"Yes, that seems like a good plan, as usual. We shall continue training, of course." the Umbreon said.

"Yes. Good. Listen, Gibbous." the Leader said, using his name at last. "You know the future, and the past. There is something I want you to do. When… when Singularity and Brock come here in the future, when they reach you, I want you to tell them the truth. Tell them everything that happened to lead here."

"Yes, of course. As you wish. I shall do as you ask as usual." Gibbous said. "Now, I suppose I should go rest." Gibbous exited his leader's den, leaving himself, and his leader to his thoughts. He hadn't told her the whole truth. Seeleena and Aroma were just as much in love as Brock and Singularity were. But he couldn't reveal that. At least not yet. For now, he had to continue to wait and watch.

 **(AN: Hey everyone, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter of Shadows and Nightmares, so if you did, follow and favorite, and share it with everyone you know and love. If you have questions or comments, then please feel free to PM me, or leave a review. Until the next chapter, I'll see you then!)**


	11. Truth and Shock

**(AN: I don't own Pokemon, just some OCs and the plot enjoy!)**

Seeleena awoke first that morning, which was slightly unusual. But not extremely out of the ordinary. Sometimes her sister just liked to sleep in. She got up, to stretch her legs. She saw a note under Nightmare's paw that said she was going out for a walk, and not to be worried. That made sense. She must have gone out for a walk during the night, and come back tired, which was why she was sleeping in.

She continued to walk around quietly for a while, while she waited for Nightmare to wake up. Gee, Nightmare sure is sleeping in a little late. She must have been out late last night. Seeleena thought. But **just** as she thought this, Nightmare began to quiver in her sleep. She was shaking. Seeleena knew it wasn't from being cold. It was a warm day. So why was she… She must be having a Nightmare! Oh no… what can I do… Seeleena worried. Seeleena knew that she could use her abilities, her dream walking ability. Unlike some Pokemon, who could send others into dreams, Seeleena had an ability she and Nightmare called Dream Walking. She could walk in the dreams of other Pokemon with ease. She and Nightmare had discovered this when she was younger… But should she use it now? There was no question.

Seeleena laid down next to Nightmare, and closed her eyes, focusing on the dreams of her sister. Within an instant, she was in a cave, where Nightmare was being pinned down by a Raichu, and hundreds of Pokemon were fighting. Seeleena's eyes widened in fear, but, she knew what she had to do. She leaped forward, and rammed the Raichu off of Nightmare, and into a wall. Nightmare looked up.

"Seeleena? But how did you get here? And why?" Nightmare asked, looking confused.

"It's just a nightmare. You were shaking, so I dream walked in here, because I was worried." Seeleena responded. "Although, we should probably fight to get out of here, since I'm not sure what else to do." she continued. Nightmare nodded.

"I think you may be right… but… I can't let you be here." Nightmare said. "I don't want you to get hurt!" Nightmare said. Secretly, she was afraid of shattering Seeleena's innocence by having her witness this battle.

"No! I will fight along with you! I need to try and fight!" Seeleena growled back. Nightmare didn't have time to argue, as she shifted into a Sylveon, and grabbed the Raichu who was charging back at her. Nightmare did what she had done the night before, and threw him away from her, and, just like before, he was thrown into a wall, and she became a Flareon. Seeleena stared in amazement. "Night, is that your special power?"

"Yes." Nightmare said grimly, as she blasted the Raichu with Flamethrower. "I discovered that last night, while I was out." Nightmare dashed forward, using a Shadow Claw, followed by a Dark Pulse that finished the Raichu off, impaling him, just like before. But Seeleena didn't see, because she was watching the battling Pokemon in awe. Seeleena wasn't paying attention as Nightmare tackled her, and they rolled to the cave entrance, and suddenly, were both awake in their cave, gasping for breath.

"What… what happened?" Seeleena asked.

"We… we made it out." Nightmare said. "I… I suppose I should tell you something. Last night… when I went out for a walk… I saw that Raichu walking off somewhere. He looked a little suspicious, so I thought he might be a criminal, so I followed him. He was in this cave, making some speech about getting revenge for something, then all the Pokemon started fighting. I was trying to leave, but then he caught me, and pinned me down, right about where you came in. Then… well, our fight was the same in the dream. I was struggling to get free, when I suddenly changed, I then figured out how to shift in between my forms, and managed to beat him. I… fled before I found out what else was going on." Nightmare said, hanging her head.

"I see… that's why you tackled me out of the cave, isn't it? You knew you could flee, and you didn't want to stick around." Seeleena said. Nightmare nodded in confirmation. "Well… thank you Night. I'm sorry that happened to you. But you're okay now.

"Yeah… But we may need to move. That Raichu and his friends might come back, and I don't want to try and face them again. We should probably move out." Nightmare said, knowing full well this was a lie, but it fit her story, and allowed her to move closer to where Singularity and Brock might be. Or, at the very least, a change of scenery. Luckily for Nightmare, Seeleena nodded in agreement, and smiled.

"I agree." Seeleena said. "I'm sad to leave… but you know what's best." Seeleena sighed, and together, the two sisters began to pack up the belongings that they had, and left the cave where they had resided for quite a while.

(TIME SKIP)

Nightmare and Seeleena had packed up their things, and were ready to go. They left the cave, and began walking down the path, away from where they had come from to get here, and off into the unknown world. It was a warm day, but not too much. There was just a slight breeze, as they walked down the path, all alone.

The day progressed, and they continued walking, only on occasion talking to each other, mostly silent. But, as the day was nearing its end, Nightmare and Seeleena saw a town nearby, and, a short walk away, a cave where they could live. They began to unpack.

"So, what do you think of our new cave?" Nightmare asked.

"I like it! I want to go into the town tomorrow, to explore!" Seeleena said, excitedly.

"That's a good idea…" Nightmare said. "In fact…" she suddenly trailed off.

"Umm… Night? Are you okay?" Seeleena asked. Her question was answered in an instant, as Nightmare keeled over, and collapsed onto the floor. Seeleena jumped forward. "Oh no! I have to get Night to someone to heal her! But… what about her symbol…" Then Seeleena remembered the Sneak Scarf that they had. Seeleena dug through one of her bags, and brought out a pair of Sneak Scarves. She knew that they had used them once, to escape from a group of criminals that had come into the cave that they were in. Somehow, they could just blend in when they wanted to. So, Seeleena tied one around her neck, and one around Nightmare's covering her symbol. With this done, Seeleena, did her best to pick up Nightmare. She was much bigger than Seeleena, and heavy too, but Seeleena needed to do this. She began moving as fast as she could toward the town.

As she ran, she panted under Nightmare's weight. Nightmare was still heavy, but Seeleena couldn't give up now. She ran into the village, crying for help.

"Someone, please, help me! My sister collapsed, and I don't know what to do!" Seeleena cried, hoping someone would listen. A nearby Chansey turned around.

"What? Come with me then. My mother and I can help your sister, if she's hurt." the Chansey said.

"Oh, please do." Seeleena begged. The Chansey nodded.

"Let me carry her, she looks much too heavy for you to carry." she said. Seeleena nodded, as the Chansey picked up Nightmare's unconscious body, and they ran off in the direction of a house. As they burst in, a Blissey turned around.

"Oh dear, what is the matter?" she asked.

"Mom! This little Pokemon said her sister got hurt, and she came looking for help!" the Chansey answered her.

"Well, lay her down here, on the nest, and I'll take a look at her." the Blissey told them. So the Chansey did so, and the Blissey began to examine Nightmare. "What is your name, dear?" she asked.

"I'm Seeleena. My sister's name is… Night." she responded. The Blissey nodded, and continued examining her for several minutes.

"Well… it seems that your sister is suffering from severe shock mostly, and some internal injuries. The injuries I can fix in an instant. But the shock, that I can't do anything about." the Blissey said. "Do you have any idea what the shock might be from?"

"Yeah… she went out for a walk last night, and followed some Pokemon she thought looked suspicious, a Raichu. She thought he might be a criminal for her to catch. But she got caught, and had to fight him. I think that was her first real battle, and there were a bunch of Pokemon fighting, and that must have really shaken her up." Seeleena said. The Blissey scowled.

"If I know the Raichu you're talking about, it's a miracle that your sister escaped with her life. There has been rumours you know, about a dangerous Raichu, who is even trying to restart Team Oblivion." she said.

"Team Oblivion?" Seeleena tilted her head, confused. "What's Team Oblivion?"

"They… they were an extremely dangerous group of criminals, who hurt and killed, and terrorized the Pokemon world. They were stopped recently. They all died, killed because they refused to just give up." the Chansey answered. "I hear the worst part was the symbol that they left behind to mark their work. Pokemon are still afraid of it." she said.

"What symbol is that?" Seeleena asked, afraid of the answer. The Chansey then took out a piece of paper, and began to draw on it. She showed it to Seeleena. It was the symbol on Nightmare's chest.

"Apparently, they marked all their members with it too, and even had the member's children marked, so that they would be members for life." the Chansey said.

"W-who were the leaders who decided all this?" Seeleena asked, trembling now.

"A pair of Eevees, said to have the ability to walk in dreams, and not just that, also to transform into any eeveelution ever." the Chansey answered. She didn't seem to notice Seeleena trembling in fear. Or, at least she didn't until Seeleena passed out onto the floor.

"Now look what you've done!" the Blissey said. "You scared that child! Now we've got two patients on our hands!" But she came and picked up Seeleena, and laid her next to her sister. They both had healing that they needed.

(TIME SKIP)

Nightmare opened her eyes, her senses slowly returning. She had no idea where she was. The last thing she remembered was talking to Seeleena, before having a strange feeling come over her, and then… nothing. She looked around, seeing Seeleena curled up next to her, wearing a scarf. Nightmare then noticed that she was wearing a scarf, one that covered her symbol, and that she was in a house.

A Blissey came walking over. "Oh, good to see you're awake dear. You've been out for a couple days. Your sister came into town, carrying you, saying you collapsed. After what your sister told us, about being captured and fleeing that dastardly Raichu, it's no wonder that you were in shock."

"Y-yeah… it was my first real battle. And I think he tried to k-kill me." Nightmare said.

"Despicable." the Blissey growled. "I'm just glad a child like you escaped. Anyways, you're lucky. That Raichu was the one who was apparently trying to restart Team Oblivion!"

"T-Team Oblivion?" Nightmare asked, fear in her eyes.

"Now don't go passing out, like your sister. She's been out almost as long as you have!" The Blissey said, shaking her head.

"Why?" Nightmare asked.

"My daughter told her all about Team Oblivion. The symbol, the leaders, their powers and downfall. It shocked her so much, she passed out. They must have hurt you and your sister at some point, didn't they?" The Blissey asked.

"Yes. We had to flee our home because of them. We lost our parents too. We've been traveling since." Nightmare said. Again, it wasn't a lie, all those things were true. Just… It wasn't quite the full truth either. "We mainly just take care of each other, and try and get stronger. Someday we'll be a great exploration team!" Nightmare said, happily.

"Oh, I'm sure you will dear. I'm sorry to hear about your parents though. But… You seem to be doing fairly well for yourselves. Do you have a sort of guardian? An adult who watches over you?" The Blissey asked. Nightmare nodded. "Well that's good. Anyways, feel free to stay here until your sister wakes up. I do hope that it's soon."

The Blissey got her wish. Perhaps an hour after Nightmare had woken up, Seeleena did too. She yawned and stretched.

"Night? Is that you?" She asked, as she got up. Nightmare nodded.

"I'm so glad you're awake!" She rushed over to her sister, nuzzling her on the cheek.

"Thanks, Night. I was worried about you too, you know. You did sort of collapse in the middle of talking." Seeleena said.

"I heard you collapsed yourself." Nightmare said. Seeleena nodded. "Don't worry, we can talk later." Nightmare then turned to the Blissey. "Thank you so much for taking care of us." Nightmare said graciously.

"It was no trouble. I love taking care of others. Now, I suppose you two should let the two of you go back to your home. But feel free to visit me any time!" She said, smiling.

The two sisters smiled in response, and left the house. As they walked back through the village, Nightmare spoke.

"Thank you, Seeleena. You may have saved my life. And it was good thinking, using our special scarves to disguise my symbol." Nightmare said.

"You're welcome. But… Speaking of your symbol-" Seeleena began.

"Let's wait until we're back at the cave." Nightmare cut across her sister. So the sisters finished their journey in silence, until they entered their cave, where they found everything just as they left it a few days ago. Nightmare sat down, and so did Seeleena. Nightmare sighed before she spoke.

"So, you found out about Team Oblivion, didn't you? About their special symbol, that also resides on their chest? The horrible things they did? Their powers? Did you guess the truth?" Nightmare asked.

"If you mean, did I guess that we are the children of some of the most dangerous criminals ever to live, then yes." Seeleena responded, water in her eyes. "But why don't I have a symbol? Why didn't you tell me?" She demanded from her sister.

"To answer your questions, you don't have a symbol because I didn't give you one. When our parents left on the raid that they died at, they told me to name you Deceit of you were male, and Sabotage of you were a female. They also told me to brand you. They also said that they may not come back, and to flee if they didn't within 10 days, or seven days from your hatching. But when you hatched, and I looked into your eyes, I couldn't do what they had asked. So I gave you the name Seeleena, and didn't brand you. And of course, we fled when they hadn't returned. To tell the truth, I didn't know the truth until about a month ago. That's what was in the packet, besides the fighting techniques. The history of the symbol, and that's when I learned everything. I just wanted to shelter you." Nightmare said, beginning to cry herself. "But no one needs to know. With these scarves, we can become an exploration team. We can work to fix all the harm our parents did to the world." Nightmare said. "Our abilities will help us, but I truly believe we can do this."

"I… I hope so too." Seeleena said. She ran over to Nightmare, cuddling up next to her. You're big and strong, and can fight. I can do things too. We'll be the best!" Seeleena said.

"We will, we sure will." Nightmare said, smiling.

 **(AN: Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Shadows and Nightmares. If you did, don't forget to favorite and share with everyone you know and love. Please leave a review or PM me with questions or comments or opinions, it really helps me stay motivated. But until then, I'll see you in the next chapter. Bye!)**


	12. Enemies and Tricks

**(AN: I don't own Pokemon, just the plot and some OCs. Sorry for the delay in this chapter. I started writing about ten different things, and I got distracted from this. Don't worry though, I'll try to keep this more regular from now on.)**

Gibbous walked through his team's base. His leader had asked him to gather their members for a meeting, so he went around, looking for them. Their Sylveon member, as he found, was not in her den, but in Aroma's, walking around. Most of their members loved Aroma's den, just because of the beauty of all the plants. He called out to her.

"Ribbon!" Gibbous called. "We have a meeting. I'm gathering everyone up." he said. "Want to come help?" Ribbon smiled at this.

"Sure thing, Gibbous." Ribbon said. "You know, I miss Seeleena and Aroma. Aroma was always sweet, and so was Seeleena. Well, when Aroma got angry, things were scary, but still. She and Seeleena were good friends. It's kind of sad with them not here." Ribbon sighed. "But, they are doing the most important mission." Ribbon sighed. Gibbous nodded.

"Team Shadow is very important. I hope that they will join us in the end. I was asked by our leader to tell them the story. You know which one." Gibbous said. Ribbon nodded. "Maybe it will help them to understand."

"Who knows?" Ribbon asked. "You're the one who can see the future and past."

"Yeah, but big events are impossible to clearly see the outcomes of. By the way… something I've been meaning to ask you, Ribbon. When you fought Team Shadow, did you notice anything… strange about either of them?" Gibbous asked, lightly.

"Why?" Ribbon asked. "Because I did, with Singularity. There was… something off about him."

"I'll tell everyone during the meeting." Gibbous said. "It's important news." Ribbon looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "Let's go find our teammates." Gibbous said. The two nodded, and left Aroma's den. Their next stop was the treasure pool, where their Vaporeon teammate resided.

"Tsunami!" Ribbon sang. "Come on out!" And with that, there was a slight disturbance, then, a Vaporeon came flying out of the water. She lept in the air, and landed after doing a few flips.

"Yes?" Tsunami asked.

"Must you show off all the time?" Gibbous sighed.

"Of course, after all, I must be as amazing as the treasure that surrounds me!" she exclaimed.

"Anyways, we have a meeting, and we're going to gather the rest of our teammates. Go ahead to the meeting room, we'll meet you there." Ribbon said, conversationally.

"You got it!" Tsunami left her treasure pool, and headed to the meeting room. Ribbon and Gibbous left, and headed for the storage room, where their Jolteon friend might be. Sure enough, he was there. He wasn't exactly hard to miss, being bigger than just about all the other Jolteons.

"Hey Spark!" Gibbous called. "We got a meeting!" Spark turned around.

"Is that so? Good thing too, I was starting to get bored, anyways." he said. "Running around, keeping this place clean isn't always as fun as it sounds."

"Well, you need some way to expend the energy." Ribbon reminded him. "We don't want another blow out."

"Whatever." Spark said. "I'll head to the meeting room. I'll meet you guys there." With this said, Spark dashed out of the room. Ribbon and Gibbous exchanged looks as they left the room, heading to the magma pit that they used as an incinerator for excess garbage. They entered, and Gibbous began stomping his paw on the ground for a minute. After a few moments of waiting, a Flareon popped his head out from the pit.

"I thought I heard someone… I was trying to relax, but whatever. What do you two need?" he asked.

"We need you to go to the meeting, Blister. And remember, don't burn anything, unless Spark tells you to." Gibbous said.

"Fine." he sighed. He pulled himself out of his lava pool, and left for the meeting room. He turned back for a minute. "Not even a little burning?"

"No! If you do, I'll make sure that Tsunami gets her revenge!" Ribbon said firmly, and Blister continued on his way. The two then headed to the long-term storage, where they froze things that they might need for later. They entered, and the Glaceon that resided there was for once not causing a blizzard. He instead sat, lost in thought, staring into some of the ice blocks that he had created.

"Cryozone!" Ribbon called. He didn't respond at first, but eventually, he turned from the ice.

"Yes? To what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked, his voice calm and cool as usual. Gibbous liked that about him. Cryozone was similar to Gibbous in that respect.

"We have a meeting. We just need to go collect Solstice, and we'll be good to go. But of course, you need to be there." Ribbon said, smiling.

"Very well. I'll see you there." he said, softly, and only a whisper of the wind blew through the chamber as he left. As the two made the long climb up the rest of their base, to reach the Solar Observatory, the twin of Gibbous's room, the Lunar Observatory, they passed by Ribbon's room. Inside, were ribbons strewn everywhere, and many structures that Ribbon had created were there. But they didn't have time for that. They continued up the stairs, and entered the Solar Observatory. The large room was brightly colored, and filled with sunlight during the day. The exact opposite of the Lunar Observatory, where it was darkly colored, yet filled with moonlight during the night. Gibbous disliked the Solar Observatory as much as Solstice disliked the Lunar Observatory, yet they both tolerated each other's rooms for short amounts of time.

"Oh Solstice!" Ribbon sang out again. "I know you must be busy with the sun and all, but we do have a meeting now." Solstice, who was up at one of the higher observation points, bounded down to the main floor.

"Do we now? Interesting. I'll head there with now. I'll meet you there, I suppose." Solstice said, as she passed by them, and exited the observatory.

"Well, now that everyone else is there, we should go to." Ribbon said. "We don't want to keep everyone waiting. The two exited the observatory together. There was a silent sort of understanding between the two of them, as they descended the stairs, and headed to the meeting room, where all of their fellow teammates waited. The spots usually occupied by Aroma and Seeleena were empty and dusty, a painful reminder to the rest of the continued absence of the two. Everyone was talking quietly, as Ribbon and Gibbous entered the room, and they each took their places. Soon, their leader emerged from the cave up on a platform above them. The team fell silent.

They all gazed upon their leader, an Eevee. She was a bit larger than most, but not abnormally so. She had a strange glow to her eyes, and the special scarf she wore on occasion was not present for today. And of course, the symbol that was burned into her chest was still there. They all waited for Nightmare to speak.

"Hello everyone. I'm glad you're all here." Nightmare said. "So, this meeting, I called to update you on our situation. Now, as you know, my sister and Aroma have now been with Team Shadow for a year now. We haven't received much word from them however. But, I expected this. After all, being in close contact with those who may oppose you makes it difficult to communicate with your friends." she continued. "Anyways, Seeleena managed to communicate with me in a dream just last night. She says everything is going well. She says their bonds between her and Aroma, and the two of Team Shadow have grown. But, she doesn't know how she and Aroma can leave without arousing suspicions. But I have a plan. She and Aroma will try and get a week off of guild work for a personal reason. That Wigglytuff is sure to give them that. Then, we'll pretend to capture them again, and they can rejoin us. Soon, they will find out the truth about their loved ones. They will understand the true feeling of hopelessness. It is the only path that will lead them to our team, and helping us." Nightmare finished her speech.

Several of her teammates cheered at the prospect of having Aroma and Seeleena return. After a while, everything calmed down. Gibbous stepped forward to speak.

"I have something to say too, Nightmare. Something I discovered by looking into the past last night." Gibbous said, quietly. Nightmare nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"Well, Singularity has a secret. One that he doesn't even know he has." Gibbous said. "The two you were looking for? Their spirits are within Singularity's soul."

"Does he now? Interesting. Perhaps we should move bases soon." Nightmare said. "To our other one. But until then, we should stay here." Nightmare continued.

The others nodded in agreement. But until then, they would continue to stay here. They liked both bases, but they had stayed here for such a long time. But perhaps their next base would be the place where the final showdown with Team Shadow would take place. But now, they were happy together for now. Team Eeveementals would prevail.

(MEANWHILE, AT THE GUILD)

"So you're going to leave?" Singularity asked.

"Just for a week." Aroma said. "Don't worry about us. I just have some… Personal things to take care of, and I need Seeleena to come with me for it. We'll only be gone for a week." Aroma reassured them.

"Well, if you say so. I'll be sad to see you go, even for that long." Brock said, nuzzling Aroma. She smiled in response.

"We'll be back before you even really notice." Seeleena told Singularity.

"Well, we had best go clear it with the Guildmaster." Singularity responded. "Let's go." So, the four exited their room, and went to the Guildmaster's. The Guildmaster and Chatot were inside.

"Guildmaster! We have something we wish to discuss with you." Singularity called.

"Okay. What is it, my friendly friends?" He responded.

"Seeleena and I would like to take a week off for some personal business of mine. I'll need Seeleena to be with me for it though." Aroma explained.

"Well, the two of you have been working hard. As long as Brock and Singularity are okay with it, than I am too." Wigglytuff responded.

"Yeah, we're okay with that too." Brock added. Singularity nodded beside him. They all nodded, and smiled, and left the room. It wasn't long before the four went to the edge of town, to see Seeleena and Aroma off. All were a little sad to part ways. Singularity and Brock both thought they would see their friends soon. But Aroma and Seeleena both knew that the next time they'd likely see them, they would be enemies on the field of battle. But both could hide their emotions well enough, so that their friends didn't notice.

The two left town, and headed out. Aroma and Seeleena didn't speak for a while, but after a short amount of time, Aroma broke the silence.

"We'll be walking for a bit, before we get ourselves 'captured.' We'll have to make it look real, we want any potential witnesses convinced. But don't worry. They're going to send so many Pokemon, it will be not possible for us to win. They won't hurt us too bad." Aroma said. Seeleena nodded in agreement, her eyes hardened, and filled with a grim sort of determination.

Aroma looked at her. She thought of something. Seeleena had changed a lot. Aroma wasn't the first to join Team Eeveementals, but she was in the first half of the members who joined. Seeleena, as Aroma had originally seen, was much more timid and shy. Originally, Seeleena had mostly stuck to the shadows as their team began. But, things had changed. Nightmare had stuck by her sister, and together, all of them had learned from each other. All of them had grown. Nightmare had learned true leadership. Aroma had learned to control her temper, and fool everyone she met. Seeleena had become stronger, like the glue that held the team together. Gibbous had learned what he should and shouldn't reveal. Ribbon knew how to keep everyone upbeat. Solstice had been a great battle instructor. Tsunami had been a great collector, Blister and Spark were both essential to keeping the team running. Cryozone had been great for listening everywhere, having a network that he could listen through, to hear secrets. Aroma pondered all of this as they walked. Their team, their real team. It was called a villain team, an outlaw team. But it wasn't really. That was the truth. In this world, so few were really good or evil. There was only point of view. And while it hurt both Seeleena and Aroma to leave Singularity and Brock, they truly had no choice. This was their true mission after all. Besides, it would probably be over soon enough.

Aroma even thought of something Gibbous had told her, when given the instructions to rejoin. He had been tasked with telling the tale to Brock and Singularity. Hopefully, they would understand. He would tell them about Nightmare and Seeleena's childhood, their formation of the team, even about each member's history, he had said. Because, if they understood, maybe the rest of the fighting would be unnecessary. Aroma was doubtful. But she hoped he was right. At least Seeleena wouldn't have to fight. She had a much more important job in the end. Aroma continued to worry and think the rest of the way to the dungeon.

"Aroma… are we doing the right thing?" Seeleena asked. "For some reason… I'm feeling doubtful now." Seeleena's eyes were filled with concern and worry. Aroma shook her head, and glanced back at her friend.

"I've felt it too. But… I've told myself that in the end, we'll be able to see Singularity and Brock again. Nightmare promised that she wouldn't kill them, that she'd spare their lives, which is a bigger courtesy then what they'll probably do to her, if they win." Aroma said. "We just need to have faith. It's our only way. After all, I am sure that all of our members, even Nightmare have doubted themselves before. But they have carried on. So shall we." Aroma answered. It wasn't just to help Seeleena, but it also made her more sure. So, the two friends continued walking to the dungeon, where the plan would take place.

******TIME SKIP******

As the two members of Team Eeveementals entered the dungeon, they of course, felt a slight ominous chill. But perhaps it was just because they knew what would happen. But of course, nothing above the usual did happen for a few floors. After they got through about ten floors, they found themselves in a larger, empty room. Which, in the blink of an eye, was then filled with about sixteen Pokemon in a large ring, that surrounded them. One of them, a Delphox, who was probably the leader, stepped forward.

"We have been ordered to capture you, awake, or knocked out. What is your choice?" she asked, with a smile that only Seeleena and Aroma caught. Aroma winked back in response, again, so only the Delphox picked it up, and responded.

"I was thinking that we knock you out and capture you, for the guild. Sound good?" Aroma responded.

"Of course. Fighting it is. Attack!" The Delphox ordered, pointing her wand at the two. Many of the Pokemon leaped forward. If the Delphox had cared, which she didn't, she could have attacked the guild spy that was nearby. But she didn't. He was going to miss what had happened, but might catch on soon. For now, he was inconsequential. The Delphox then looked over at the battle, where her allies had knocked out Aroma and Seeleena. She grinned.

"Team Eeveementals will see you now." she laughed, and levitated their two bodies in the air, and carried them off, as her allies followed.

Slicer the Weavile heard the commotion, and caught up only to see a large group of Pokemon leaving, the last one being a Rapidash. He had to stay away, they could be dangerous, and he might not make it out if they were hostile. He could only wait and see.

 **(AN: Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Shadows and Nightmares. if you did, please leave a favorite, follow, and share it with everyone you know and love. If you have an opinion, question, comment or criticism or anything of the sort, please leave a review, or PM me, and I'll take the time to respond, unless you do it as a guest, in which case, I can't. Anyways, I'll see you in the next chapter. Bye!)**


	13. Blister and A Promise

**(Hello everyone, as usual, I don't own Pokemon, just the plot and OCs. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter!)**

The festival had begun. Thousands upon thousands of Eevees had gathered here, to evolve. Some were here to show support for family members, some were here to have fun. The Eeveelution Festival held every year was always a joyus event that all were welcome to. Nightmare and Seeleena, bearing their scarves, had arrived. They had waited an extra year before coming to the festival. They could have come last year, but both had agreed that they should train more. They had done just that. Now, the two sisters were both stronger. They had each battled to get stronger, practiced their stealth, and even their own special powers had grown. They were ready to assemble their team. The two sisters wandered the crowd of Pokemon, sticking close to each other. A traditional part of the festival was choosing a new names once they evolved. Although not all of the Eevees would do so, many did. So, the sisters had to wait, until the first ceremony, the evolving of the Flareons. Hundreds of Fire Stones had been gathered, just like every year. But the ceremony wouldn't commence until tonight. Each There was a ceremony each day, right after sundown, and one during the day, so the Espeons could evolve, followed by the Umbreons that night. But tonight was the festival of Flareons, so the two sisters were ready to find their first teammate.

The two sisters talked to many other Eevees, and even some others that they didn't know. At some point, they passed by a Wigglytuff, who stood alongside a Lopunny, Gardevoir, and Medicham. The four were waving and greeting everyone. The two sisters smiled and waved back before moving on. They seemed like nice Pokemon, maybe they could talk later. After a while, as the sky began to darken, an air of excitement surrounded the area. The Eevees who were to become Flareon were all talking excitedly. When the sun finally set, and the moon began to rise, A Flareon leaped upon a rock. The assemblage of Pokemon took a few minutes to quiet down. The Flareon spoke, his voice carrying out to everyone.

"Greetings, my friends! Welcome one, welcome all, to the Eeveelution Festival. Now, I know you are all excited to evolve, especially those evolving tonight. But right now, I must give you a short speech, for those evolving tonight." He spoke, watching all of the crowd. He paused for a moment, before continuing. "Becoming a Flareon, is different than the rest, of course. When you evolve, you may experience some slight personality changes. As a Flareon, you may tend to be a bit more aggressive, you may have a shorter temper. But do not be afraid. You can still be yourself as much as you are now. As a Flareon, your body temperature will go way up, you'll be much warmer. Never go swimming in the water, only in lava, for that is now your new water. But above all, remember this. Once you evolve, there is no going back. If any of you are second-guessing yourselves, or are unsure you would like to be a Flareon, do not feel pressured to evolve." the Flareon continued, speaking, as a true leader would. "Now, I don't want to delay you any further. I ask that all of those who wish to become a Flareon step forward, everyone else, please step back."

There was a bit of commotion, as several Eevees came forward, while the rest of the Eevees and other watching Pokemon moved back to watch. There were many calls of love, of wishing of luck. Jokes were made. Final smiles and nuzzles before the change were given. Fire Stones were distributed amongst the Eevees. The ones evolving waited patiently for the signal from the lead Flareon. Once again, the crowd took a bit to calm down. The Flareon spoke once more.

"Those of you who have chosen to follow the path of Flareon, listen, and listen well. Your lives will now be changed forever. You will be the warrior of flames, but remember, water will defeat you, no matter how many things you can consume with your flames. With every gift, comes a downside. Keep pride within you, but do not let it consume you. Now, if you all are ready, place your paws on the stone on my mark." The Flareon called. He lifted one of his paws. "Ready? Three!" Last glances were given between some friends. "Two!" They all looked back at their stones, ready now. "ONE!" The lead Flareon brought down his paw, and the Eevees followed suit. There was a glow, and a flash, brighter than the light of the moon. And with it, a large group of Flareons stood now, all in awe of what had just happened. Then, a cheer erupted from a few, and the groups, the newly made Flareons, and the others, all rushed forward to each other, to reunite.

Nightmare and Seeleena both cheered, along with the rest. Even though neither one would evolve, it was still an exciting event. The Flareon had to wait quite a bit for the crowd to calm down again, before he spoke once more.

"There you have it, you are now Flareons. Good luck, and enjoy being yourself." he said. "Now, I wish you all a good night. Try not to stay up to long. Tomorrow, is the Festival of Vaporeon!" he yelled, and then leaped down from his perch. For a while, it was a loud, joyus event that everyone watched. But soon, some of the younger Pokemon got tired. Everyone was returning to their dwellings, but some still lingered. This, was when Nightmare and Seeleena came down to look for their teammate. Mostly Flareons were left, and some of their families. Some were alone. They walked around for a bit, looking for one they thought might fit. They saw one, who was waving goodbye to someone, and then was practicing fire moves. The two sisters moved in.

"Hi!" Seeleena called to him. He didn't turn around at first, but after blasting a flamethrower, he did.

"Hello!" he said, sounding friendly. Did you bring me things to burn? I want to burn stuff! Yeah, I love burning stuff! Flames!" he shouted, blasting some into the sky."

"Sorry, we didn't." Nightmare said. The Flareon hung his head. "What's your name?" The Flareon paused for a moment.

"Well… now that I'm a Flareon… I'll say that my name is now Blister!" Blister said. "Yeah. that sounds cool. What about you two?"

"I'm Nightmare, and this is my sister Seeleena." Nightmare said.

"Ooh, scary. How'd you get those names?" Blister asked, genuinely interested in the answer.

"My mom told me that the sounds I made in the egg gave her Nightmares, and I got this name. I chose Seeleena's name myself, when she was hatched." Nightmare said.

"Well that's nice. Say, where are your parents? Are they here two? Are they going to make you evolve into a Pokemon less awesome than Flareon?" he asked, kind of laughing.

"Our parents died." Seeleena said, honestly. "Don't try pitying us, we've had enough of that. We're on our own. But we're okay."

"Well… if you say so." Blister said. "I didn't really know my parents either. I grew up in a group of other Eevees. Apparently our parents left all of our eggs in a village, because the villagers had no children, and wished they did. So they got us. Anyways, what are you two going to evolve into?" he asked, smiling at them.

"We didn't come here to evolve. But, before you ask why," Nightmare said, as Blister opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. "We came here because we wanted to start an Exploration Team. One with every one of the Eeveelutions. Would you like to join?" Nightmare asked him.

Blister was a bit surprised at this. But he considered his options for a moment. He didn't really have a better idea of what to do with his life now. He smiled. "You got yourself a deal! As long as you let me burn stuff."

"You'll be able to, but we'll tell you what to burn." Seeleena said. "Also, since we're waiting here the rest of the week, to find other teammates, will you meet us back here on the last day of the festival?" she asked, looking up at him. Blister nodded.

"Alright. I guess I'd better prepare and all that. See you later!" Blister called, as the two sisters ran off. Blister smiled to himself. This was going to be interesting.

"We did it! We found our first teammate!" Nightmare said, excitedly.

"We're even closer to our goal now! Tomorrow, we find our Vaporeon compatriot!" she said, and the two sisters left the open prairie that this festival took place on, for they would return tomorrow. But for now, they had one more teammate, one more friend.

****************************LINE BREAK**********************************

As Blister returned to the village where he lived, he thought about the two sisters who were now his teammates. He definitely wanted to learn more about them. They were an interesting duo. Orphans at their age. He was at least a year or two older than them. But still. They seemed resilient. He respected that. He thought about his own life. What he had told the sisters was just what he told everyone who didn't know the real truth. The real truth, as one of the Village's elders had told him, was that all of the mothers of his and his friends had arrived with the eggs, but each were badly injured. They had each said that their mates were dead, and that they were being chased. They just wanted their eggs hidden. So, the villagers had done that. They had hid the eggs,and the mothers all left, and were never seen again. Some of the villagers had found their bodies. The whole reason that Blister had wanted to become a Flareon, was because of their power. He wanted to become powerful enough to stop injustice like this from happening ever again. With this power, he would do it. He didn't need his old name anymore to remind him of the past. Besides, if he ever caught wind of something like this happening again, being in an exploration team was perfect.

Blister shook his head, and continued his walk back to the village. It would be a little sad, to leave his village, to join this exploration team. But he didn't feel that bad. Some of his friends already had plans of what they were doing, all of which led from the village. He knew that the elders of the village were all sad, but proud at this. They had all known it would happen one day. Soon, Blister found himself back at his house. The Stoutland that had raised him, greeted him at the door.

"Well, looks like someone evolved." he smiled. "Do you feel better now?" he asked. Blister nodded.

"I've changed my name to. Call me Blister." Blister said. Stoutland smiled.

"Alright then, Blister. I saw that some of your friends already have plans. Do you? Or are you going to stay here for a bit longer?" Blister smiled.

"I've joined an exploration team. It doesn't have a name yet, but two sisters are leading it. They want one of each Eeveelution, so I'm supposed to meet them back there at the end of the week. So, this will be our last week together. I'll try not to burn too many things." Blister said, grinning.

"You'd better not! I can still whoop you in battle if you do!" Stoutland said, a twinkle in his eye. Blister only smiled.

"Glad to hear it." Blister said. "Besides. I could do with some training, I think. I'm sure I'll get it while I'm on the team. I'll try to visit sometimes, but I don't know how busy we'll be." Stoutland just smiled.

"Blister, my boy. I don't even care. I'm so proud of you." Stoutland said. "But I'm tired right now, so go to sleep! We can talk more in the morning." Stoutland settled on his nest. Blister laughed, and did the same, sleep coming to him quicker than he thought.

****************************IN THE PRESENT DAY**********************************

Blister thought just then, about Stoutland, the one who raised him. Even submerged in lava, he still couldn't clear his mind. He thought about the time he had once gone back to the village. He had discovered that Stoutland had died peacefully in his sleep one night, leaving a note for Blister, telling him not to worry that they had never said goodbye, or met to tell the adventures he had been having. They would meet again, in the next life, When they did, then they would have a long, nice chat. Blister had cried tears that were embers at the time. He had never gotten to say goodbye to his mentor, the one who was like a father to him. But… maybe it didn't matter. Blister thought. In a way, Team Eeveementals was his new family. They had been his friends since the day they met. Although he occasionally argued with Tsunami, they all did on occasion. But maybe, that was the way families were.

Blister swam downwards in the lava, and burst through to his secret cave, where he kept his most personal items, including the scarf that marked him as a member of Team Eevementals, and the dragon scale that Stoutland had given him, claiming he had torn it off in a battle with a vicious Dragonite. Blister smiled. He kept it with him, whenever they went out exploring. Stoutland had promised it would bring him good luck, and keep him safe. But Blister also remembered the promise he had made to Stoutland, when he had received this, right before he left the village.

****************************************FLASHBACK*****************************

"Now, I know you're excited to leave." Stoutland said. It was the last day of the festival, he had to meet his teammates soon, so he stood with his treasure bag ready, as Stoutland said goodbye. He had already said goodbye to everyone else. "But there's something I'd like you to have. Blister tilted his head in confusion, as Stoutland pulled something from his own bag. It was his dragon scale that he always talked about.

"What is this?" Blister asked.

"I'm giving you my dragon scale. I want you to have it, and keep it on your explorations. It's always been my good luck charm. But my adventuring days are long gone. Keep it. It'll keep you safe, and may bring you good luck." Stoutland said.

"B-but I can't take this from you, what if you need it?" Blister protested.

"Trust me, Blister. I won't need it. You'll need it much more than I could." Stoutland said. "Now, take it!" Blister did, putting it in his bag, and smiled.

"I promise, to make you proud." Blister said. "I promise on this dragon scale that I will make you proud of me. We'll become the best explorers that ever existed. We won't ever be forgotten, we'll be the best!" Blister promised. Stoutland smiled and shook his head.

"Now go on! Get to it!" he said. Blister smiled, and with that, left the village, down the path to his destiny. Once he was out of sight, Stoutland spoke to himself. "You've already made me more proud than you could ever know."

*********************PRESENT DAY********************************

Blister thought about this. If he and the others on this team succeeded in their plans, he would make Stoutland proud, wherever he was watching from. He wanted to keep his promise after all. As much as he loved burning things, friendships and promises were things he wouldn't burn. That was one thing he had learned,being in this team. His friends, or maybe they were a family of some sort, were more precious to him than anything else. No one could take that away. Not even Team Shadow could. Even though they were sure that they were doing the right thing, didn't most Pokemon? He and his team thought they were doing the right thing, so did Team Shadow. But which one of them was truly right? That he didn't know. He would find out. As Ribbon had often said, their hearts would decide the outcome. He wondered which group of hearts would prevail. Only time would tell. But he would do everything in his power to make sure it was him and his team who prevailed.

 **(There it is! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter of Shadows and Nightmares! If you did, please leave a favorite, and share it with everyone you know and love! Please also take the time to PM me or leave a review, with comments, questions, concerns, criticism, or ideas, or anything else. I'll be sure to get back to you. Anyways, I hope you continue to enjoy this story, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter! See ya then!)**


	14. Slicer and Truth

**(AN: I still don't own Pokemon, or any of its awesomeness. Just the plot and OCs. Thanks, and enjoy the chapter.)**

"...AND THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES! HOORAY!" the guild finished their usual morning chant, and the Guildmaster stepped forward.

"Now, friends, before you begin the day's activities, I'd like you to listen to a report from our top spy, Slicer!" Wigglytuff said. The rest of the guild waited patiently as Slicer, their most trusted spy, and a Weavile, stepped forward. He had his usual grin on his face as he spoke.

"Thank you, Guildmaster. Now, there's something I'd like you to know. While out on other duties, I discovered a group of pokemon in a dungeon. I was on a more important mission at the time, but later I managed to track one down. It turns out they were working for Team Eeveementals, at least for one job, that Pokemon said." Slicer began

"Team Eeveementals? You mean the team that Ribbon and Solstice were part of? The Sylveon and Espeon?" Singularity called out. Slicer nodded.

"It seems so. But, I followed the Pokemon, and eventually, they slipped up, and told one of their friends about the base that they have, which I managed to track down, after some searching. The base is extremely well hidden. But I managed to sneak in, and listen in for a bit to a meeting. I couldn't catch all of it, but it seems that they are a group of all the Eeveelutions, and their leader is an Eevee. We already know that Solstice and Ribbon are part of it. I discovered that Tsunami is the Vaporeon, Spark is the Jolteon, Blister is the Flareon, Cryozone is the Glaceon, Gibbous is the Umbreon, and their leader's name is Nightmare. I was unable to learn the identity of the Leafeon member, and it sounded like they had another member, although, again, I'm not completely sure." Slicer continued.

"So, you're going to be going back there, tonight, to go find out, right?" Wigglytuff asked, his smile still ever-present.

"Of course." Slicer replied. "I'm going to try and discover the identity of the Leafeon member, and confirm if the other member is even real. I shall also try and discover what it is exactly, that they are trying to do. I'll report to you guys tomorrow morning." Slicer finished. Wigglytuff nodded.

"Good luck, Slicer! Now, everyone, off to your activities!" The Guildmaster said. So, everyone did. Singularity and Brock had agreed to meet Seeleena and Aroma back on the beach today, so the two headed down there to wait.

The two waited, not really sure of when to expect their friends. But they sat and talked as they did.

"Can you believe that it has been a whole year since we met? Since we began our journey as an exploration team?" Singularity asked.

"That is pretty weird." Brock said. "But what's even weirder to me, is that many Pokemon recognize us, and ask for our help. That's what is really weird. Being kind of famous."

"I definitely agree with that." Singularity said. "But, it's kind of nice. We're helping so many Pokemon… That's my real favorite part. That we can be helping Pokemon all around our world. That we really are making a difference." Singularity said.

"Exactly." Brock said. Then they both fell silent for a while. But he spoke again soon.

"That team that Slicer talked about earlier, it seems strange, doesn't it?" Brock asked. "We met them once, and then they vanished, not heard from for a year. Then they hire a group of Pokemon to do who knows what, that Slicer is lucky enough to catch wind of. I just wonder what they're up to." Brock thought aloud.

"I don't know." Singularity said. "But, maybe they're just doing good silently from that base. If Slicer can discover that they aren't a threat, then maybe we can work with them. After all, didn't Ribbon say that the next time we met, we would hopefully be friends?" Singularity recalled.

"Yeah, she did. Maybe this is what she meant. I don't know for sure. I guess we'll find out tomorrow, when Slicer returns." Brock said. They fell into silence once more. Time passed. No sign of Aroma or Seeleena anywhere. They began to get worried.

"They should have been here by now." was all Singularity said.

"Well… I know, but maybe they stopped somewhere to help out. Or just were a little late because they were slowed down in a dungeon." Brock said, trying to reassure himself as well as Singularity.

"We can't stay here much longer. It's almost dinner time. Let's head back to the guild, and check in with the Guildmaster." Singularity said, standing up, and leading the way back to the guild. Brock followed, still worrying. Singularity was too, but he was trying not to show it.

"Well, if they're not back by tomorrow, you two can go search for them." Wigglytuff said. "After all, we don't want our friendly friends to be in trouble!" Chatot had agreed with the Guildmaster, and after dinner, the two members of Team Shadow fell into worried dreams.

****************************LINE BREAK********************************

Slicer crept deeper and deeper into Team Eeveemental's base. Friendly team or not, they probably wouldn't appreciate him sneaking in here. So he had to be wary. He approached the meeting room, and heard indistinct voices. He came closer right near one of the doors, and listened. Nightmare was speaking.

"...So I must first tell you that our remaining two teammates have made a recovery, and are fit to rejoin us in the team." Nightmare was saying. Slicer smiled to himself. He would learn the identity of the Leafeon, and the other member that was real. He knew he hadn't imagined that. But it was good to have confirmation.

"Great! I've been missing them!" the voice of Ribbon rang out. "Are they coming to this meeting?" she asked. Slicer silently asked the same.

"Why, of course." Nightmare replied. "In fact, they're here right now. Come on out!" she said, and there was a small hubbub as the members greeted each other. Slicer was unable to make anything at all out from it. But he was patient. He would know very soon.

"It's so great to have you back, Aroma!" came Ribbon's voice.

"Of course, I'm more happy than ever to have you back, Seeleena, my sister." Nightmare's voice said.

If there had ever been a time that Slicer would have fell over, or done something to reveal himself out of pure shock for some of the secrets he heard on the job, this would have been the one. His claws still slipped a little, scratching against the rock and he froze, hoping no one heard. Fortunately, everyone was still greeting Aroma and Seeleena, and no one said anything. This was huge. Aroma and Seeleena were part of Team Eeveementals? And Nightmare was Seeleena's sister. He truly needed to know what this team was planning now. There must be some sort of explanation for why Aroma and Seeleena were part of Team Shadow and Team Eeveementals.

"Now, come to order." Nightmare's commanding but not threatening voice echoed throughout the room. That was one thing about her. She had an aura of respect that Slicer could feel even from here. "I know that you're all excited to have our team recompleted, but they must give reports, and of course, we should go over our goals now that they're back." Nightmare said.

"A wise choice." that was Gibbous. The silent yet wise Umbreon. "It would do us all good." There was a pause before Aroma spoke to address their teammates.

"As you all know, for most of the past year, Seeleena and I have been part of Team Shadow, the team that has been rising to popularity with some of the deeds done. Neither of them have any idea that we are truly members of this team. Nor does anyone at the guild." Aroma began. "As for the members, just like you asked, I got Brock to fall in love with me. I did that successfully.

"As did I. Singularity is in love with me." Seeleena said. "Having them in love with us may prove helpful. They won't want to fight us, when they inevitably do come to fight our team. It may be easier to convince them to join our side." she said.

"Which will make things easier in the long run." Gibbous said. "They are really the only ones with a chance to beat us. But on our side, we'd be unstoppable. Not even the rest of the guild combined could defeat us then."

"Exactly. I'm also sure that you two would like that, as I'm sure that you both still have feelings for them, am I correct?" Nightmare asked.

"That's right, sister. But, in the end, I'll choose you over them, if it comes down to it." Seeleena said.

"As will I." Aroma echoed. "Our loyalties lie with this team above all others."

Slicer was hardly listening. Aroma and Seeleena had been… what, manipulating them? Making Team Shadow fall in love with them? Were they enemies after all? It was beginning to sound like it. But he had to wait for them to recite their goals. Then, and only then, would he know for absolute sure, how Team Eeveementals stood. This news was almost too much to take in.

"Now, who wants to recite the goals of our team?" Nightmare asked.

"I will!" the soothing voice of Tsunami rang out. There was a pause where Slicer could only guess a silent confirmation had been given. "Our goals: 1. To take over the world for the greater good. 2. Defeat anyone who stands in our way. 3. Either get the guild to join us… or destroy them." she said.

"Exactly, thank you. This violence shouldn't need to be necessary, but, to change the world, violence is always part of the equation. That is what we must do. Change the world for the greater good." Nightmare said.

Slicer was seriously overwhelmed now. Team Eeveementals were evil. They wanted to take over the world 'for the greater good?' What did that even mean? He wasn't sure he wanted to know, but Nightmare was speaking again.

"I want the rest of you to give your reports now. Ribbon, you go first." Nightmare said.

"Well, I was patrolling the perimeter of our base. I sensed that there was an intruder here last night, perhaps during our meeting or after. I couldn't find much evidence physically, just a feeling I got. It was strange, I just sensed that recently, an unknown presence had been there." Ribbon said.

"I had the same feeling as well." Solstice said. "While up in the Solar Observatory, I seemed to notice a pattern in what the sun was trying to tell me. It just said "Intruder" over and over." Solstice said.

"Same here, in the Lunar Observatory. But my warning said. "Be wary." Over and over and over, just like what happened to you. I have very rarely ever seen the moon give me a message like that over and over again. It was… unusual. I couldn't see who the intruder was when I tried. Whoever it was, if anyone, was extremely skilled at not being seen or caught, or leaving any trace of themselves behind." Gibbous reported. Slicer had to smile to himself a little. Even this team couldn't really prove beyond a suspicion that he had been to their base. That was better than every other team base he had infiltrated.

"Our treasures appeared to be undisturbed." Tsumami said. "Although, I didn't check in the deep caves, there may be something missing."

"Our inventory seems intact." Spark said. "Like Tsunami, I didn't check the far back recently, so there may be something missing."

"I couldn't detect any unusual footsteps while deep in the lava." Blister said. "But if the intruder is as good as we think, it's unsurprising I heard nothing."

"Deep in long term storage, no one came." Cryozone said. "That I know for sure, but again, that doesn't dissuade the possibility that there was an intruder."

"Hmmm…." Nightmare said, thinking. "This is not something we should take lightly. If there really was an intruder… Let me try and sense if there was one." Nightmare said. A few minutes passed by, as Nightmare concentrated. Slicer waited, afraid for a moment before Nightmare spoke again. "There was an intruder. Like you guessed, he was extremely skilled, very cunning. Weaviles are the only Pokemon who can really be that good. Sneasels too. He was here, but I'm not sure what he was after. Probably looking for food and valuables. Spark, Tsunami. You had best check the deep caves and farthest reaches of our inventories. That's where they might have been." Nightmare said.

Slicer had had just about enough. He had so much valuable information, he had to make his escape. He couldn't warp from here, they would be able to tell he had been here if he did. His only hope was to try and sneak out before the meeting ended. He slowly began to creep away, but he didn't realize he was still gripping the walls, and his claws scraped against rock again, louder and longer. The meeting room was silent.

"Well, what's this? I hear a sound just outside the room. Perhaps this is our intruder." Nightmare said. Slicer began backing away quickly, fear in his eyes and heart. "ATTACK!" Slicer heard Nightmare yell this, and he ran. There was no longer a point in being stealthy when they knew he was here already. He sprinted down the corridors that would lead him out as the entirety of the team came after him. He risked a glance back. Nightmare and Spark were leading the chase, but they were still a bit behind him. Slicer turned forward again, and burst out of the cave, Team Eeveementals catching up. He felt a wave of heat pass by him as the Flareon shot fire at him.

"Ribbon! Solstice! Tsunami! Cryozone! You check the rest of our territory. The rest of you, let's bring this intruder down!" Nightmare howled. She and her teammates continued sending attacks at him, but he was good. When he did get hit by the attacks, he kept running. If he got too much farther, he would escape.

Slicer was tired now, but he couldn't rest just yet. He had to keep going. He dashed past the perimeter of the forest, and immediately warped away. Nightmare and the others slowed down, and stopped.

"Blast! He got away!" Aroma growled. "He was one of the guild's spies, I recognize him. Slicer." she said.

"Well, he didn't get away with too much, I suppose. He knows who we are, and what we plan to do. We were going to reveal that soon enough. I suppose that we must move bases quicker than we thought. Get everyone else, and we'll head out to Ancient Tomb as soon as possible." Nightmare said. Her teammates nodded, and ran off.

"Don't worry, sister. We'll be okay." Seeleena said. "Somehow, I just have a feeling that things will work out." she said.

"I know." Nightmare said. "With you and Aroma back, anything is possible. We're the best sisters ever. Now we're together again, we can do anything. Just like we promised each other.

The two sisters smiled as they returned to base.

 **(AN: There we go! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter of Shadows and Nightmares. If you did, please leave a favorite, and share it with everyone you know and love. Also, please leave me a review or PM me with questions, comments, or criticism regarding this or other stories of mine. It really would be appreciated, and I'll take the time to respond if you do. Until the next chapter!)**


	15. Tsunami and Family

**(AN: I don't own Pokemon, just the plot and OCs. Anyways, here is the next chapter, regarding Tsunami's backstory. Hope you enjoy!)**

Day 2 was now underway. Today was the Festival of Vaporeon, and once again, excitement filled the air. While some of the Flareons still resided, several didn't return to the festival. But this was expected, many were just so happy to become their new selves, they just wanted to have fun. Nightmare and Seeleena, their scarves in place, wandered the area. Again, talking to the Eevees that surrounded the area. The Wigglytuff, Lopunny, Gardevoir, and Medicham were absent today, so there wasn't much of a focus point where they had been the previous day. Many of the Eevees were busy swimming in the large lake that the ceremony would take place in later that day. There was a large market, as usual, countless Pokemon selling countless items.

"You know, Night, it's so weird… I can't believe that we really are building our team. Even after we recruited Blister, I'm still having trouble believing that we're going to do this." Seeleena said.

"I know… but, it's really true. I love that we're doing this. I wonder who we're going to find today…" Nightmare responded. Both sisters wouldn't have long to wait before that question was answered.

***********************************TIME SKIP******************************

Night had once again fallen upon the festival, and the moon once again shone brightly. A Vaporeon leaped upon the same rock that the Flareon had used the previous night to speak. Once again, it took a little while for the crowd to calm down, before she spoke.

"Welcome, everyone back to the Eeveelution Festival, the second day, the Day of Vaporeon! I'm sure that many of you are excited for evolving tonight. But, just like my friends, I must give a short speech for those of you who are going to be evolving tonight. As a Vaporeon, you'll need to be spending more time in the water. You can live outside it, but you will always be drawn to water. With this, you may notice yourself being a bit passive, and you will be calm and collected much easier. This is part of becoming a Vaporeon. You will be able to douse any flame, erode the earth, and ride the water like no others." she paused. "But beware the grassy areas, for the grass will seek to absorb you to make itself stronger. Lightning will split you apart, sometimes in an instant. Once again, I must say this, if you are doubting your decision to become a Vaporeon, then please, do not feel pressured to. Now, if all those wishing to become a Vaporeon, please come forward, into the lake." The lake had been filled with large rocks, for the Eevees to stand upon before transforming, each with a water stone placed upon it. The Eevees came onto the rocks, and stood up straight and proud, waiting for the symbol. The Vaporeon spoke again.

"Those of you here, you have chose the path of Vaporeon, you will be the guardian of water, stopping the fire and earth, but beware the plants and lightning. Remember, that with every gift, is a curse. There is no going back now, so I wish you all luck. Place your paws upon the stones on my mark!" the Vaporeon called, raising one of her fins. "THREE!" The Eevees looked excitedly around, one last time. "TWO!" They snapped back, focusing on their stones. "ONE!" The Vaporeon brought her fin down, slapping it on the rock, as the Eevees touched their stones. Once again, a massive glow and flash of light accompanied this, and soon many Vaporeon stood on the rocks. With a massive cheer, they leaped into the surrounding lake, swimming around in their newfound element. Nightmare and Seeleena cheered with the rest, as the crowds slowly began to move back together, meeting each other once again. The Vaporeon waited patiently for the crowd to calm down once more.

"Those of you who have become Vaporeons, I congratulate you. I hope that you truly enjoy your chosen path, and life. Come back tomorrow, for the ceremony of the Jolteon is tomorrow night!" she told the crowd, and lept off of her perch. Once again, there was much joyus celebrating. Nightmare and Seeleena wandered the crowd, looking for a potential candidate. But before either one had identified one to each other, a commotion took their attention. One of the newly made Vaporeons was standing in front of a group of Espeons, who Nightmare and Seeleena could only guess was her family. One of the Espeons stepped forward.

"How could you do this to us, Zenith? I thought you agreed to become an Espeon, to carry on the family tradition!" the mother demanded.

"Yes, it has been in our family for generations! Why would you do this? It is like asking to be disowned from this family." the father added.

"I thought we were going to be Espeons together, sister!" a slightly younger Espeon added. The Vaporeon gritted her teeth.

"This is exactly why I chose to be a Vaporeon! You and your stupid traditions! All my life, you just have me do the same things that my ancestors have done! I don't care if they decreed all members need to be Espeons! All I want to be is myself! You have never let me do that! You just always wanted me to be your perfect little girl. 'Just be an Espeon, dearie.' 'That's not how an Espeon would do it.' 'Try to be more like you should be.' Well, I'm SICK OF IT!" she screeched. "And if you are so self conceited and blind to your own daughter, then FINE! DISOWN ME! SEE IF I CARE! WHO NEEDS A FAMILY LIKE YOU IF YOU CAN'T EVEN BE PROUD OF ME FOR MAKING MY OWN DECISION FOR ONCE." she screamed, so loud that many heard her around. Her family began to leave, but her mother turned back once.

"Fine. We have no daughter. Only our son who became an Espeon. We won't talk with common Pokemon like you. I hope we never meet again, Zenith." her mother said.

"THAT IS NOT MY NAME!" she screamed back, but her family wasn't listening, as they were already leaving. She ran off, crying. Nightmare and Seeleena silently agreed to follow her, and went after her.

They found her, lying upon a rock, crying her eyes out. Nightmare and Seeleena approached her. She slowly looked up.

"Please, just go away. I want to be left alone, my family just disowned me." she said.

"We know." Nightmare said. "We followed you because we thought you could use some cheering up." Zenith smiled at this.

"T-thanks…"

"By the way," Seeleena began. "If your name isn't Zenith, then what is it?" she asked politely.

"Well, it was Zenith my whole life. I hated it, expected to be an Espeon. I might even have been one, if it wasn't forced upon me…" she sighed. "But, as a Vaporeon, my name is… Tsunami. The strongest water." she replied.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Tsunami." Seeleena said. "I'm Seeleena, and this is my sister, Nightmare." Tsunami nodded.

"It's nice to meet you both." she smiled again. "Funny, this already cheers me up a bunch."

"Well, we actually wanted to offer you something, since you seem to have nowhere to go." Nightmare began. "We're starting an Exploration Team, a team with each Eeveelution, plus us as the leaders! We… would like you to join us, if you don't mind." she asked Tsunami.

"... Of course I will. You're right. I don't have anywhere to go. I would be a fool to pass up an opportunity such as this one. I would love to join. Especially if we can get a bunch of treasure. That was always my secret. I would sneak away from my parents to go exploring. I love treasures!" Tsunami responded.

"You bet!" Seeleena said. "Anyways, we're going to have a meeting between our members at the end of the festival, so make sure to be there." Tsunami nodded.

"Don't worry, I have some things to do before then." Tsunami said. After this, they separated, with Nightmare and Seeleena wandering back to the cave where they currently lived, celebrating that they had once again found a teammate to join them. Tsunami watched them go. Tsunami had stopped crying, and she wasn't about to begin again. The two sisters she had met filled her with something else. It was something like hope. She had been sad, desperate, and lonely. But instantly, they had come to her rescue. She only hoped that she could repay their kindness.

*******************************IN THE PRESENT DAY**********************************

Tsunami swam around in her treasure pool, pulling everything into her bag, as they were soon to leave for Ancient Tomb, curse that guild spy. She swam deep, and entered the deep caves, a place that only she could reach. She climbed out of the water, seeing the place undisturbed. This was a place that she held her truly most important items. Ones that were not shiny, or useful. Ones that meant something to her personally. One was her Team Eeveementals scarf, one that she kept down here, to always remind her of the meeting where she had received it… she continued on.

She also saw the gem that her parents had given her when she were little, so that she could practice being an Espeon, even back then. She thought back to that.

***************************************FLASHBACK****************************************

She was still Zenith back then, and her older brother had already received his gem. Tsunami had anxiously awaited hers, before she had begun thinking she didn't want to be an Espeon. Her parents had made a big deal about it.

"Now Zenith, my girl, this is a practice gem. I want you to wear it, when practicing proper Espeon behavior. It may feel strange at first, but it will begin to feel normal after a while. Once you're old enough to evolve into Espeon, and you do, you'll get your own gem, and it will feel completely normal." her father had said.

"That's right. Our family is a proud one, and we'll keep up the family tradition. Always remember, as an Espeon, you'll have powers beyond the rest, and no one will be able to beat you. You'll always be the better of your Eeveelutions." her mother had continued.

Tsunami had nodded, drinking in every last word her parents had said, her young eyes open wide, as she smiled. "Of course! I want to be the best of them all! I'll be the best Pokemon in the world!" Her parents had shared a smile at this, placing the gem on her forehead.

********************************TIME SKIP*********************************

Tsunami was older, when she first began to question becoming an Espeon. She had failed a particularly hard test that most Eevees her age had passed in her family, but she had failed, running off. Her brother had come to comfort her.

"Zenith…" her brother said. She hadn't said anything. She had simply cried. "Look, I know you're sad you failed the test, but you can always take it again, this isn't the end of the world."

"Yes it is!" she insisted. "If I didn't pass, it's clearly a sign that I'm not good enough to be an Espeon, and I should just evolve into some lower level Eeveelution." she had protested to her brother. Her brother had laughed a little.

"Want to know a secret?" he asked, smiling. He waited for a nod, before continuing. "I failed it twice, and I'm still an Espeon."

"R-really?"

"Of course, you should have seen the look on some of the faces that saw me both times…" her brother said, a far off look coming into his eyes. "The point is, you can't let this one setback get you down, you just have to keep on going, and you'll get it. Don't let just a small snag defeat you, ever. Espeons are better than that, and you will be an Espeon, so you will be better than that. Besides, you've got us, your entire family here to support you." her brother had continued. Tsunami had smiled.

"Thanks. You're right, I won't let this beat me!" she and her brother had then left to study. But from then on, she had still thought about what it would be like to not be an Espeon.

****************************************TIME SKIP*******************************************

Now, it was the day of the Flareon. Tsunami's parents had brought her here to evolve, but they said that experiencing the entire festival was a good thing. She and her brother were allowed to wander the whole day, but return to them at the end of each day. By now, Tsunami had already been seriously considering evolving into something else. Her family knew this, but they had each insisted that once she became and Espeon, she would no longer have those thoughts.

The Flareon festival had been fun, but Tsunami had made her mind up by the end of it. She would not evolve into an Espeon. She saw the fun and freedom that these Flareons had, and knew she couldn't live the uptight and high class life of her family. There was no joy or freedom in it. She would evolve tomorrow. She knew how amazingly graceful Vaporeons were, so she hoped that her parents might understand…

********************THE PRESENT DAY**********************************

But of course, they hadn't. When she had gone back to the house where her family had lived once, she saw a pile of what she had owned, accompanied by a note waiting for her inside. That was another thing she had kept here. Most of the things she had retrieved from there were here too. But Tsunami picked up the note. This is what it read:

 _Tsunami,_

 _We know that you must be as sad about our daughter's death as we are, Zenith will be missed widely. She did however, mention you in many conversations we had. She asked that you receive all of her things, should she die. So, we are fulfilling her final wishes. We wish you luck on your journey._

Her entire family had signed it. Other than that, the house had been completely deserted, no one was there, and no one would come back. Tsunami had been angry at the time she had seen the letter, but, all the same, she packed the things her parents had left her in a bag, much like she was doing now. As Tsunami did so, no waves of sadness or anger came over her. She had left her family long ago. It had sunk into the depths of her memory. Team Eeveementals was her new family. She had decided long ago, that one thing she would never let sink, was her new family. That would be one thing she would preserve, above all other. Team Shadow would never tear that apart.

 **(AN: And there we go, Chapter 15 is complete! For those of you wondering, I will keep going alternating chapters between Nightmare and Seeleena's tale, and Singularity and Brock's. For now, the Nightmare and Seeleena chapters will be backstories for the other members. Anyways, if you enjoyed this chapter, please give it a favorite, and follow. If you know others who might like this story, share it with them. Also, if you have any comments, questions, ideas, or criticisms, please send it to me in a PM, or in a review, it would really be appreciated, and I'll make sure to respond. Until the next chapter everyone, where Singularity and Brock learn the truth!)**


	16. Memories and The Guildmaster

**(AN: Hey everyone, so sorry about the delay and lack of updating. I'm trying to balance my summer job, as well as trying to write about 4 stories at once, so I'm trying to slow it down. Anyways, here is your next chapter.)**

Singularity opened his eyes. It was morning now, time to get up. He didn't feel like he had hardly slept at all, since he had worried about Seeleena. But she'd probably arrive today, along with Aroma. He looked over, and saw Brock too looking like he hadn't slept well.

"Morning, Singularity." Brock said tiredly. "I hope that Aroma and Seeleena get back today. I was up all night worrying over hopefully nothing." Singularity nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, so was I. We can ask around after we hear whatever Slicer found out last night, if they're not back already." Singularity responded. With that, the two friends exited their room, and joined their fellow guild members.

"...AND THREE, SMILES GO FOR MILES! HOORAY!" The morning chant was done, and Wigglytuff stepped forward.

"Hello, my friendly friends! As you know, Slicer went to Team Eeveemental's Base last night to find out some information about them, including their goals and their last member's identity. He has returned to us with news, so here you are!" Wigglytuff told them, as he stepped aside.

Slicer looked as though he had seen better missions. He was clearly tired, but he had a look of one who always looked over their shoulders. Despite his frazzled appearance, Slicer stepped forward to speak.

"Well, first things first, I did complete the mission, I know the identities, and their plans, and I even found out where Aroma and Seeleena are." Slicer said. Both Brock and Singularity smiled at this. Slicer wished with all his heart that he wouldn't have to disappoint them, but he would. Why couldn't things have been different? "First off… they aren't our friends. The goal of Team Eeveementals is to 'Take over the world for the greater good' as they say. They also plan to destroy anyone who stands in their way, and want the guild either to join them… or be destroyed." Slicer said.

With this news, the guild began whispering to each other at this, and Slicer waited, hating the suspense.

"We won't let that happen!" Wigglytuff declared. "No meanies will stop us!" the rest of the guild nodded and shouted agreement.

"Now… for the rest of the news… I was right when I thought that there was another member. She's the sister of Nightmare, and is the second in command of the Team. And of course, I discovered the identity of the Leafeon member." Slicer hung his head. "The Leafeon… is Aroma. And the second in command is Seeleena." Silence. That was what happened. Silence. Each breath of the Pokemon could be heard. "I'm sorry." Slicer said. "I wish it wasn't true… but it is. I-" but before Slicer could continue speaking, he had to try and dodge out of the way as Singularity and Brock leaped at him, in anger. But they never got there.

Wigglytuff came to his rescue, and punched them both back into the wall. Singularity and Brock glared, as Wigglytuff matched it. "No fighting among friends!" he said, starting to look angry. Chatot began to panic.

"But he's lying! Aroma and Seeleena are on our team, there's no way that they would be on that team!" Singularity protested.

"Yeah, he has to be mistaken! There's some sort of mistake here!" Brock agreed.

"Let him finish!" Wigglytuff growled. That was enough to scare Singularity and Brock into waiting for Slicer to finish.

"I'm afraid that's not even the worst news. Like you two, I thought there must be some sort of mix up. But it was their voices, and… well… they gave their reports of time here. It seems that they were gathering information on you and the guild. And… and… And it turns out that… that…" Slicer screwed up his face, trying to finish his sentence. "That Aroma and Seeleena were sent here to make the two of you fall in love with them. To hope that in the end, you'd join them because of that." Slicer, collapsed to his knees. "I'm… sorry. They found me out, chased me. They'd be fools not to have left their base, which I have marked on my map… so go check it out, I guess. There might be some information there."

Chatot walked up to Slicer, and began escorting him away, to a place that he could rest, after taking his map. Wigglytuff stepped forward, taking the map from Chatot. There weren't many times where Wigglytuff had his extreme seriousness face on, but this was one of those times.

"Singularity. Brock. Effective now, the two of you are put in charge of finding the new base of Team Eeveementals. Sunflora. Corphish. Bidoof. The three of you will be helping them. Today, I want everyone to come on an expedition to the base that Slicer found. We'll head there to see if we can find anything that may lead us to their new base. Are you ready?" he asked. "When you are, we'll meet back here."

Singularity and Brock left the guild, and went to buy some supplies, and returned shortly. They waited for the last few members of the guild to return, Chatot being the last. Wigglytuff led the shocked guild out of town, and to the base of Team Eeveementals. Throughout the journey, no one spoke to Team Shadow. They didn't speak to each other. Both were wrapped up in their own thoughts, confusion, and denial. It was Wigglytuff, however, that was thinking very hard about things. This was all so strange. The two that had been rescued were really part of Team Eeveementals? That didn't make sense, unless… Unless it had been a setup since the very beginning.

 _Of course._ Wigglytuff realized. _This was a trick all along. It was a trick to place seeds of hesitation and doubt in Team Shadow. So that when they meet again, they want them to join Team Eeveementals. But why do they want to take over the world? It doesn't make sense. What do they mean by the greater good? There are still some pieces missing. No… that's not right. If they're as smart as I think, then no, the pieces are all here… but maybe we just don't know where to look yet._ Wigglytuff paused in his thoughts. A memory came back to him. It was years ago, that it had happened. Back when he was still traveling with Team Charm. _Could it have been?_

**************************FLASHBACK***********************************

He and Team Charm were at the Eeveelution Festival. It was a large festival, and it was only the first day. They were there to offer encouragement and advice, and as they were fairly well known, they got a lot of attention. Among the countless Pokemon that he had talked with, he remembered an Eevee, who had a scarf, and who had another Eevee beside her, they had looked similar, maybe they had been sisters. But only the larger of the two had actually spoken.

"I want to lead an exploration team with my sister! We're going to make the best team!" the Eevee had said.

"I'm sure you will. But remember a few things, you have to be strong, and recruit those who you trust. Surround yourself with friends. Don't ever give up, remember that. With enough determination, you can be the best team. I hope to meet your team one day!" Wigglytuff had told them, smiling.

"Thanks!" the Eevee had said, and the two had run off.

***************PRESENT DAY********************************************************

 _That other Eevee. I didn't realize it at first. But she is Seeleena. I must have met Nightmare, all the way back then. But… if that's true… then they must have been planning this for a long time. But why? I don't understand… Where are the last pieces? There has to be something in the base._ Wigglytuff continued to ponder this as they travelled.

*****************TIME SKIP********************************

Finally, they reached the base. Wigglytuff turned to speak to the guild.

"Alright everyone! Spit up, go in pairs if you need to, and check out this base. Beware, there may be things still here. Bring back anything that could be useful or give us information. We'll all share what we find once we all reunite." The guild nodded, and split up. Croagunk went to the incineration pit, Sunflora and Bidoof to the Solar Observatory, Brock and Singularity to the Lunar Observatory, Corphish to the Treasure Pool, Dugtrio and Diglett went to the storage room, Chimecho went to Aroma's garden, and Loudred went to the Long term Storage. Chatot went to Ribbon's room, and the Guildmaster went to Nightmare's den.

*****************TIME SKIP************************

After several hours, the guild reunited in the meeting room where just last night, Team Eeveementals had met. Just as Slicer had predicted, the base was deserted, and the majority of things had been taken. But small things remained in each room.

"Okay, now that we're all here, I want you all to tell me what you found, if anything where you went." Wigglytuff said. Croagunk stepped forward.

"Meh-heh-heh. I went to a deep cave, where there was much lava. It looked like it may have been where the Flareon resided. I saw within it not much. Just a tuft of his hair." Croagunk said, stepping back.

"I went up one of the two higher parts of the base. Oh my gosh! There was a room up there that was called 'The Solar Observatory.' There was a bunch of equipment left there, and some notes scrawled on different pieces of paper." Sunflora began, pulling out several scraps of paper. "They mostly have things written on here that don't make sense. This one just says 'Intruder' over and over again, Oh my gosh! The others just have other things that are weird. Let me read some of them. 'They have come together. The guild is now complete. Beware the bonds that form. The true enemy isn't always in sight.' Oh my gosh! This is so weird!" Sunflora finished.

"Yup yup! It seems like what was being written down were things we were doing, which is weird, yup yup." Bidoof added.

"Hmmm…. That is certainly strange." Wigglytuff said, still thinking hard. "Keep going."

"Well, Brock and I went to the other high part of the base. This place was called 'The Lunar Observatory.' It was most likely the twin to The Solar Observatory, but for the moon. This one was much more devoid of everything, but it did still have a scrap of paper in it. A letter, actually. Addressed to us." Singularity said.

At this news, the entire guild burst into noise. Everyone was talking to each other, confused. Why was there a letter addressed to the guild? Who had written it? What was going on here? Eventually, the guild settled down, and let Brock speak, and read the letter.

"Here's what it says…" Brock began.

 _Dear Wigglytuff's Guild,_

 _If you're reading this, then you did come to the base just like I thought you would. So welcome. And congratulations to Brock and Singularity for finding this letter. Yes, I knew they would. I always knew that our base would be discovered eventually. Granted, I didn't think that it would happen this early. It was such a small chance, but if there's one thing that I learn from being able to see the future, it's that every remote future can still happen. Anyways, Nightmare told me to write this letter to you, to tell you that we're off to our other base. We'll do everything we can to not be discovered until we want to be. I know you see us as enemies, but believe me, we will meet for real very soon. There isn't much you'll find here in the base, but take what we left you if you really want it. Also, Aroma and Seeleena say that they still love you, Brock and Singularity. It's up to you if you still believe them. I shall see you very soon, but you won't see me for a while._

 _-Gibbous_

"That's the end." Brock said. "Gibbous apparently claims to be able to see the future."

"Worrying. If he can predict our every move… then what?" Wigglytuff added, thinking out loud again.

"Hey Hey! I went to a deep pool, that was apparently a 'Treasure Pool' And in there was a few pieces of treasure that I brought back! But other than that, it was clear things had been cleared out recently, hey hey!" Corphish added, bringing a few bits of treasure forward.

"All we found was some supplies in a storage room." Dugtrio said, Diglett nodding in agreement.

"I went to a beautiful garden." Chimecho said. "There wasn't really anything there, but there was a piece of paper that just said 'I'm sorry.' But other than that, there are some plants, and a few mixtures that aren't of any use to us."

"There was a cave deep in the ground, AND IT WAS COLD!" Loudred began. "I just found some things THAT LOOKED LIKE they needed to be stored. Again, not too much THAT WOULD BE OF ANY USE TO US!" Loudred reported.

"I went to a colorful room, that was probably made by that Sylveon, Ribbon." Chatot started, fluttering his wings. "Anyways, there were several traps in that room, that only a pokemon who knows where they are, or one that can fly can go. So, I didn't get caught, but it was quite n-nerve wracking. There wasn't much there though, besides the traps."

"Well… What I found… again, wasn't much. I went to where Nightmare and Seeleena must have slept. There is a diary here, but it is in a strange language, and it may take me a while to decode it." Wigglytuff said. "I believe that both Nightmare and Seeleena wrote in it, but I'll see when I decode it." Wigglytuff said. The guild was silent for a while. "But there's something more that I thought of." The guild turned to The Guildmaster. "I believe I met Nightmare and Seeleena, years ago, when I was still travelling with Team Charm… we didn't talk much… but still, they are familiar. So… I'm going to go find Team Charm. I'm going to need their heart. Chatot, Chimecho. I trust that the two of you can keep the guild running while I'm away." The guild burst into protests."

"G-guildmaster! You shouldn't l-leave!"

"Guildmaster, what will I, I mean we do without you?"

"WHAT? YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!"

"Oh my gosh! What?"

"N-no, you shouldn't do that, yup yup."

"Hey hey! You're just going to leave us?"

"Meh-heh-heh, that would be dangerous!"

"We'd be worried, what would we do?"

"You shouldn't separate from us, what if this is what they want?"

"YOOM-TAH!" Wigglytuff screamed, and everything quieted down. "Listen, I know that you are all worried, but believe me, I think this is the correct way to move forward. I have been thinking about this, and don't worry. You can run the guild yourselves for a short while. I'll keep my ears peeled for news of Team Eeveementals, and eyes open for their base." Wigglytuff answered to them. "Besides, don't worry about me. I'll be able to defend myself."

To this, the guild had no argument. Everyone except Team Shadow remembered the Team Skull incident. Wigglytuff also thought of this, remembering.

"Oh, and Chatot? Remember our two recent graduates? Once they get back, which should be soon, I want you to get them to help." Wigglytuff added.

"I will, Guildmaster. Try to keep in touch." he said. Wigglytuff smiled, and exited the base, off to find Team Charm.

Chatot and Chimecho led the rest of the guild back to Treasure Town, a strange void where the Guildmaster had been in their wake. Things were not getting better. Things were only getting worse and more complicated. Chatot sincerely hoped that they could all pull through. Because Team Eeveementals had outsmarted them this far. How much further into the future could the team outwit them?

 **(AN: Hey everyone, hope that you enjoyed this chapter of Shadows and Nightmares, if you did, please give it a favorite, follow it, and share it with everyone you know and love, it would be greatly appreciated. It would also be greatly appreciated if you would leave a review or send me a PM with criticisms, ideas, opinions, or questions on the story. Until next time!)**


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